Inside the world’s largest cave complex in an urban centre, Kanheri, several untold stories exist. An upcoming educational workshop by research group, Into the Past Heritage Research hopes to introduce participants to the historical development of Buddhism and how Kanheri played an important role in shaping the religion. Long before global trade brought the world closer, Kanheri was an urban centre in its own right and had international connections too. Researcher Siddharth Kailas Kale, who is leading the workshop, shares, “Apart from the possibility of spotting a leopard (or its pug marks), one will get to learn how Kanheri shaped Buddhism and so much more about the religion that is not available online. We’ll also look at how geology played a huge role in shaping the architecture and the plan of the urban centre at Kanheri.”

Panel depicting the practice of rituals from Saddharmapundarika Sutta