Sunaparant, or the Golden Land, as Goa is referred to in ancient literature, was home to many pre-historic cultures and civilizations. Spirituality also flourished in this land of plenty, blessed by nature’s bounty.
‘Rishivan’, or the forest of the sages, as Rivona was believed to be known in ancient times, was a chosen destination of numerous monks and hermits who set up their hermitages by the bank of the serene Kushawati river.
The solitude of the village, nestled in the lap of nature, made the place a favourite of the sages to perform their tapasya (meditation) and penance.
Telltale signs of the once-hallowed abodes of sages abound in Rivona. While most of these places have slipped into oblivion with the passage of time and the vagaries of nature, the ‘Rivona caves’, as they have come to be known, bear testimony to the fact that great seers and sages once roamed through the forests of Goa lending the village, the name ‘Rishivan.’
Legend has it that Punna or Purna, a Goan and one of
Gautam Buddha’s earliest disciples, meditated inside the Rivona caves during his wanderings to Goa to
spread Buddhism.
Shenoi Goembab (1877-1946), considered by many the father of Konkani literature, stated in May 1927 that it was evident from the nearly 2,000 caves found in the South Konkan region that the Hinyaan sect of Buddhism had once flourished here. He further pointed out in his talk that the Rivona caves, as also the Lamgao, Arvalem, Loutolim and Aquem ones, bear resemblance to Buddhist caves. Goembab visited all these caves in April 1927, and inferred from the writings in the Brahmi script found in one of them that the caves were nearly 2,000 years old.
“The first of all Goans to have migrated outside Goa was Punna or Purna. Born in 500 BC, he was the one to have lit the first flame of Buddhism in the Konkan, according to a reference in the Sinhalese books, ‘Amavtur’ and ‘Saddharmaratnakare’ written in the 1st and 2nd century AD. There is also a reference to Purna in Buddhist literature written in the 4th century AD,” Goembab states.
Stating that Purna had to travel places as he was into trading, Goembab points out that Purna was residing in North Ayodhya when he met Buddha at his Chetvan monastery, and became his disciple. He returned to Goa to spread Buddhism and stayed at a place in Chandrawadi, now in Quepem taluka.
Nevertheless, the jury is still out on whether the Rivona caves were indeed of Buddhist origin, as is generally believed. While the prevalent belief is that the caves date back to the 5th or 6th century, the counter view among historians is that the caves are natural formations and thus cannot be dated.
Rohit Phalgaonkar, a
history researcher, is of
the view that no Buddhist caves exist in Goa and that the Rivona caves do not hold any archaeological significance as yet.
“All the caves found in Goa may have been used either for habitation or for worship. Every cave found in Goa has been associated with Buddhism, but the time has now come to refute this belief,” stresses Phalgaonkar, adding that the Rivona caves are “natural depressions in the laterite rock formations”.
A platform neatly carved out from the rocks, called the ‘peetha’, is believed to have served as the seat of the
teacher. The prevalent view is that Buddhist monks sat on this ‘peetha’, meditated and guided their disciples towards ‘nirvana’.
Phalgaonkar, though, is not impressed. “Unless we find Buddhist stupas or Buddhist motifs in the caves, it would be foolhardy to identify them as Buddhist caves,” he says. The raised platform may have very well been carved out to serve some domestic purpose, he feels.
A stairway by the side of the cave leads to a water pond. A ‘havan kund’ used for performing the yagna or the sacrificial fire, located just outside the cave, indicates that sages or monks who stayed in the caves performed rituals as a part of their spiritual practice. A flight of steps leads one to the upper level of the cave which has an opening in the ceiling to facilitate ventilation. A couple of perennial springs originating from within the cave may have served as the main sources of water for the inmates. A small Hanuman idol is also found near the main entrance.
An underground passage inside the tunnel also fascinates a visitor to these caves. Though the passage has now caved in, locals say that the passage was, in fact, a tunnel that led to the neighbouring Kurdi village, several kilometers away.
Phalgaonkar refutes the belief as well. “Kurdi village is located miles away. It’s difficult to comprehend that people used to walk through these tunnels for several kilometres to reach another village. Where will they get the oxygen to breathe from? It’s necessary to bust these myths as such kinds of distortions to make folklore palatable for the people is dangerous,” he said.
The
history professor underscores the need for scientific exploration of the caves to unearth their origins and clear misconceptions.
“There is a lot of potential for scientific exploration of protected sites in Goa, most of which have been left uncared for,” he says. “The current
director of state directorate of archives and archaeology,
Blossom Madeira, is showing a lot of interest in preservation and further exploration of protected sites. The Rivona caves are important from the ecological point of view and need to be preserved. The problem, though, appears to be of lack of adequate manpower. We hope the department of archives and archaeology takes immediate steps to address the issues.”
We can’t agree more.