During my visit, a tourist guide was found sitting near the caves, awaiting tourists for quite some time. He effortlessly narrated whatever history he was aware of. He mentioned that the site was famous locally as the treasure chamber of the King Bimbisara of Magadha, where his treasure was hidden by the Queen, subsequent to his imprisonment by his son and successor Ajatasatru. He mentioned that it was believed since ancient times that behind the cave was another chamber closed by the rock, and which still may be containing the treasure of Bimbisara.

The sort of wedge in the rock face of the wall was shown as being the gate blocking the probable treasure. As stated by Kuraishi there are two perpendicular and two horizontal cracks on the northern wall of this cave which encloses a space 6’ by 4.5’, resembling more or less a blocked up passage. Local belief is that piece of rock within this space is an ancient “wedge” blocking up the passage to “the treasure of gold” in the body of the hill.

The name Son Bhandar is apparently derived from this belief. It was learnt from the guide that some British officer who happened to visit the site in the nineteenth century had made efforts to locate the treasure, and had planned to blow up the walls with cannon. But later, being assured that there lied no treasure behind the rock in the cavity, he left the caves as they had been cut out centuries ago. 

To be continued....