Cave 11 Yajna Sri Satakarni 174 CE Satavahana inscription (dated evidence).
Visitors crowd Cave 3 (the largest Chaitya Hall) and Cave 1 (the entry-level base cave) — almost none climb 200m further up to Cave 11, where the dated Satavahana inscription sits in plain view but is not flagged by SGNP signage.WHY NOBODY KNOWS
Cave 11 holds the Prakrit-language Brahmi-script donor inscription naming Yajna Sri Satakarni — the Satavahana emperor (reign 174-203 CE) — providing the EARLIEST DATED archaeological evidence at Kanheri (most other inscriptions are paleographically dated). The cave itself is a small assembly-hall vihara with stone benches + a side cell + a worn relief panel. The inscription confirms Satavahana royal patronage of Kanheri monastic life in the late 2nd c CE — bridging the earlier Hinayana phase (1st c BCE caves like Cave 3 + Cave 4) with the later Mahayana additions (Cave 41 Avalokiteshvara, c. 6th c CE). Reach via the steep stone-cut stairway from Cave 1 base. Open 7.30am-5.30pm; SGNP entry + cave fee applies.
