Gopachal rock-cut Jain monuments

The number of Jain rock shrines at Gwalior, with numerous monumental statues, is unmatched anywhere else.

James Burgess wrote: "In the 15th century, during the reign of the Tomar kings, the Jains seem to have been seized with an uncontrollable impulse to convert the cliff that sustains the fort into a great shrine in honour of their religion, and in a few years excavated the most extensive series of Jaina caves known to exist anywhere.

[2] The Gopachal rock-cut Jain monuments are located on the rock cliffs of the hill topped by the Gwalior Fort, Madhya Pradesh.

[8] Also within the fort there is an abandoned Jain temple which is now within the Scindia School playground and thus no longer accessible.

[14]Centuries later, the Jain community restored many of the statues by adding back stucco heads on the top of the damaged idols.

[12] The prolific Apabhramsha author Raidhu was responsible for consecrating many of the Jain rock carved images as attested by multiple inscriptions.

[17] The Gopachal rock-cut monuments depict the Tirthankaras in seated or standing meditating positions.

Gwalior Fort plan 1901 showing locations of the five groups of monuments
The cave temple housing 47 feet (14 m) idol of Parshvanatha