Cave Temple at Zaffergadh Offers Clues to Jain, Rashtrakuta and Kakatiya Past

Zaffergadh fort

HYDERABAD: An ancient rock-cut cave temple identified at Zaffergadh in Telangana's Jangaon district is drawing attention from heritage researchers because sculptures and architectural features at the site may reflect several layers of the region's religious and political history.

The cave was identified at the base of Zaffergadh hill by Samudrala Raju, a member of Kotha Telangana Charitra Brundam, according to a Deccan Chronicle report published April 6, 2026.

Zaffergadh hill is already known for its historic fort, inscriptions and the Singaraya, or Narasimha Swamy, temple. The newly documented cave contains a carved entrance with two kalasha motifs on its doorframe and a Gajalakshmi image on the lintel.

Sriramoju Haragopal, convener of KTCB, interpreted those architectural features as evidence that the cave may originally have functioned as a Jain basadi, or Jain place of worship.

Researchers also documented a small Nandi and a circular panavattam inside the cave. Haragopal attributed the Nandi and pedestal to a Chalukyan stylistic tradition, while identifying the Shiva linga as Kakatiya-period material. Another sculpture found at the site was identified as Brahmi, one of the Saptamatrukas, attributed stylistically to the Rashtrakuta period.

Taken together, the researchers argue that Jain, Shaivite and other sculptural and architectural elements point to the site having been used or modified during different historical periods.

Zaffergadh illustrates a recurring feature of Telangana's historic landscape: religious sites were sometimes occupied, adapted or reused across centuries as dynasties and religious traditions changed.

For Telugu readers in the United States, the discovery offers a glimpse of the less familiar archaeological landscape surrounding the better-known Kakatiya heartland of the Warangal region.