Lenyadri represents a series of about 30 rock-cut Buddhist caves, located near Junnar in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is one of the Ashtavinayak shrines, a set of the eight prominent Ganesha shrines in Maharashtra.
Twenty-six of the caves are individually numbered. The caves face to the south and are numbered serially from east to west. Caves 6 and 14 are chaitya-grihas (chapels), while the rest are viharas (dwellings for monks). The latter are in the form of dwellings and cells. There are also several rock-cut water cisterns; two of them have inscriptions. The layout of the caves, in general, are similar in pattern and shape. They generally have one or two sides with two long benches for occupants' use. The caves date from between the 1st and 3rd century AD; the Ganesha shrine situated in Cave 7 is dated to the 1st century AD. All of the caves arise from Hinayana Buddhism. The name "Lenyadri" literally means "mountain cave". It is derived from 'Lena' in Marathi meaning "cave" and 'adri' in Sanskrit meaning "mountain" or "stone".Lenyadri is located in the Indian state of Maharashtra in Pune district.
One can reach Lenyadri from Mumbai or Pune in the following ways:
* State transport buses are available for Junnar from the Shivajinagar bus stand of Pune, Kalyan ST bus stand in Thane district and from the Mumbai Central bus stand of Mumbai. Lenyadri is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Junnar. Rickshaws, jeeps and buses are available from the Junnar bus stand for travel to Lenyadri.
* On the Pune-Nasik Highway, Lenyadri is 94 kilometres (58 mi) from Pune.
