Acanta Caves: Buddhist Tradition And Chaityas

The history of Acantacaves, which containvery important Buddhist cultural elements, goes as far as tothe 2nd century BC. The caves are divided into two periods according to the period when they were created. The first group was created in 2nd-1st. centuries BC while the second group, after an interval of approximately four hundred years, was created in 4th-6th. Centuries AD. The caves, which are called the first group in history, were used by Buddhism's Hīnayāna sect believers. On the other hand, the second group served as monasteries of Mahāyāna sect. In terms of its structural and morphological features, Acanta caves are gain divided into two, twenty-five of the mare built in the form of vihāra and the other five are built in the form of ？aitya. There is a small stupa in ？aitya-Grihas which is the subject of this study. Stūpas brings a grea tamount of Buddhist cultural treasure to our day. For this reason, in our study, by examining the structural and cultural features of the cottages in Acanta; it was aimed to emphasize their place and importance in Indian culture