Tulja Caves

The Tulja Caves, or Tulja Lena, lie in a hill about 4 km west of Junnar, beyond the north end of Shivneri hill. Cut around 50 BC, they are among the earliest caves at Junnar, a group of 14 running along the cliff, though all their façades have collapsed. They take their name from a shrine to Tulja Devi, a form of Bhavani, set up in Cave 4.

The most remarkable cave is a circular chaitya hall, about 25 feet across, in which twelve plain octagonal pillars ring a stupa and support a dome above it. The top of the stupa was later cut away to turn it into a large Shiva linga, and parts of the dome and pillars are damaged. On the cell fronts nearby are chaitya-window arches, a stupa in half relief with an umbrella and celestial figures, and friezes of Buddhist railing pattern, much of it worn by weather. Devotees have built a platform in front of the shrine.