Thereafter, the caves are a short hike west on a marked, stone paved trail with a seasonal waterfall and a natural lake.

Next, on the south side, is the inscribed and painted Jogimara cave with platforms and railings built for visitors.

The area has many small crescent caves as well, and a long large tunnel called the Hathipol (lit.

Any inscriptions or paintings in a Buddhist or Jaina cave invariably includes a dedication or mention of the Buddha or Tirthankara respectively.

[5] Further, another set of proper steps were already provided to the left of the cave, so cutting out these long stretches with gaps seem useless.

[5][8] In order to encourage safe tourism, the local authorities have built steps, viewing platforms and other facilities near the Sitabenga cave.

The front of the cave has also been rock-cut and sculpted like a stage, something that would be unnecessary and unusual if this was merely a place for monks or traders to retire.

[5][9][note 2] After Bloch's publication and proposal, the colonial era Indologist Heinrich Lüders followed up with the comment that the famed poet Kalidasa of about 5th-century CE was from this region of India, and passages within his poems mention sculpted performance stages.

[2][9] This classification is primarily driven by the architecture of the cave, the poetic inscriptions found in the ancient Brahmi script, as well as the murals.

This is also a natural cave, adapted and sculpted to allow one to climb, step in, sit and rest, according to an archaeological survey by Beglar in 1874.

According to Richard Salomon – a scholar of Indian epigraphy, Sanskrit and Buddhist studies, a paleographic analysis of these inscriptions in the pure Magadhi language suggest that they are from the 3rd-century BCE.

They were originally produced in three colors and cruder method than those found taught in the earliest known Indian texts on painting such as the Chitrasutras and Chitralakshana.

[6] According to Beglar, who visited these caves before Bloch and other scholars, the murals were made from five colors – yellow, two shades of red, brown, black and green.

The key features are, according to Vincent Smith:[6] The mural is painted in a concentric pattern of panels, as if the painter wanted to create a circular view for someone looking up.