Chaitya

Meaning ‘shrine’ or ’sanctuary’ in Sanskrit, chaitya or chaitya griha (‘chaitya hall’) refers to a pillared hall in Buddhist architecture, which usually houses a votive stupa in an apse at its end. It is typically a long and narrow structure with a high roof. The stone ceiling has carved beams in imitation of the original wooden construction, or attached timber ribs, as seen in the earliest surviving chaityas in the rock-cut caves of Karle and Bhaja in the Western Ghats of India. The term is also used in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism to refer more generally to a temple or sacred monument.