These four stories caves are said to be found in the 7th century. They are
associated with the Vishnukundin Kings of AD 420 – 620. These exotic
caves of Undavalli were dedicated to the Anantapadmanabha and
Narisimhaswami. According to the historical evidences Madhava Reddy who
ruled this region as the subordinate under the Reddies of Kondaveedu gifted
the caves to the temple of Anantha Swamy. It is also believed that these
caves were used by the Buddhist monks as the rest houses. Some of the other
shrines in the cave are dedicated to the Trimurti, Brahma and Shiva. These
ancient Hindu cave temples holds the great importance among th
e Hindus in
India.
There are numerous chambers cut in rock, other than the four storied
cave, which is considered most significant. The entire four storied
structure is cut out of massive sandstone precipice and the architecture
resembles that of a deserted fortress. The front area is almost 29 m in
width, and each consecutive floor diminishes and recedes in size. The
architecture appears to be influenced by Chalukyan and Gupta
architectural styles. There are around 9 separate accesses to enter the
first floor, which contains enormous quadrangular columns. It is evident
from the architectural planning and style of the artworks that the
first floor was mainly used as a vihara or Buddhist monastery. There are
ancient monastery cells cut in rock in the chambers. The hallway is
unfinished and consists of 8 pillars. Three different sanctuaries with
pillared lobby are also present devoted to the 3 foremost gods in Hindu
religion, Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva, known as Trimurti.
