Ambapuram Cave Temple

The Ambapuram cave temple, named Nedumbi Basadi in inscriptions, is a rock-cut Jain shrine in Ambapuram village near Vijayawada. It is attributed to Kubja Vishnuvardhana (c. 624–641), founder of the Vengi Chalukya dynasty, and belongs to the early 7th century, when Jainism flourished in the region; five Jain caves were cut in the Ambapuram and Adavinekkalam hills in the 7th and 8th centuries. The village takes its name from the image of the goddess Ambika inside.

The cave has three parts: a plain verandah, a vestibule and the sanctum. Yakshas guard the vestibule door, inside which are Parshvanatha under a five-headed serpent hood and Ambika as protector. On the sanctum's back wall Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara, sits in the lotus position on a lion-marked pedestal between whisk bearers. There is also a rock-cut miniature stupa and a 3-foot standing Parshvanatha under a seven-hooded serpent. In 2015 the caves were reported neglected, without a proper path for visitors.