Pandava caves Mangalore

The Pandava Caves are located near Kadri Manjunath temple in Mangalore, Karnataka.^[1] Historians found that the current temple was a Buddhist monastery known as Kandarika Vihara. The shrine had a standing Buddha image in it. This image was replaced by the King Kundvarma of the Alupa dynasty, who was a devotee of Shiva. However it was not the Buddha but a bodhisattva who was historically integrated with Shiva. Historians concluded that the vihara was originally a centre of the cult of the bodhisattva Manjusri.^[2] This temple was one of the famous centres of learning and pilgrimage until the 11th century AD.^[3] This particular doctrine opened the doors for Tantric religion. Both Shilinga and the bodhisattva were worshipped for many centuries until the Buddhist temple was converted to a purely Saivite temple.^[4]

References

1. "Ourkarnataka". Retrieved 29 June 2013.
2. Jaini, ed. by Padmanabh S. (2001). Collected papers on Buddhist studies (1. ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 148–149. ISBN 8120817761.
3. Sadasivan, S.N. (2000). A social history of India. New Delhi: APH Pub. Corp. pp. 207–208. ISBN 817648170X.
4. Jaini, ed. by Padmanabh S. (2001). Collected papers on Buddhist studies (1st ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 148–149. ISBN 8120817761.