Mandapeshwar Caves

The Mandapeshwar Caves is an 8th-century rock-cut temple dedicated to Shiva located near Mount Pinsur in Borivali, a suburb of Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. There are some blurred carvings and inscriptions inside caves dating back in the late Gupta period of the 6th century. There is a wall inside the cave featuring dancing Lord Shiva (Nataraja), probably occurred in the 7th or 8th century. The Mandapeshwar caves are smaller and not so well known like Kanheri caves, located in Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali East. These days the open ground in front of the caves is used by slum-dwellers as a playground and parking area. These caves are believed to have been built around 1500 to 1600 years ago, around the same time when the Jogeshwari caves were built.