The Marabar Caves are fictional caves which appear in E. M. Forster's 1924 novel A Passage to India and the film of the same name. The caves are based on the real life Barabar Caves, especially the Lomas Rishi Cave, located in the Jehanabad District of Bihar, India which Forster visited during a trip to India.
Exterior of the real Barabar Caves in 1870; Lomas Rishi Cave and (at left) Sudama cave.
Marabar by Elyn Zimmerman.
The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating from the Maurya Empire, some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district, Bihar, India, 24 km (15 mi) north of Gaya.
The famous carved entrance of Lomas Rishi cave, dated to approximately 250 BC, making it the first known Maurya relief
Panorama of Barabar hill, with entrances to Sudama and Lomas Rishi caves
Entrances of Sudama Cave, and further, Lomas Rishi Cave, Barabar Hill
Unfinished interior (floor and ceiling) of Lomas Rishi cave. The rocky bumps left in the state on the ground appear in the farther left corner