<P> A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya - griha, or caitya refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions . The term is most common in Buddhism, where it includes a stupa at one end . Strictly, the chaitya is actually the stupa itself, and the Indian buildings are chaitya halls, but this distinction is often not observed . Outside India, the term is used by Buddhists for local styles of small stupa - like monuments in Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia and elsewhere . In the historical texts of Jainism and Hinduism, including those relating to architecture, chaitya refers to a temple, sanctuary or any sacred monument . </P> <P> Most early examples of chaitya that survive are Indian rock - cut architecture, but it is agreed that the standard form follows a tradition of free - standing halls made of wood and other plant materials, none of which have survived . This is especially evident in the curving ribbed ceilings, which imitate timber construction, and in the earlier cases timber was used purely decoratively, with wooden ribs added to stone roofs . At the Bhaja Caves and the "Great Chaitya" of the Karla Caves, the original timber ribs actually survive, elsewhere marks on the ceiling show where they once were . Later, the ribs were rock - cut . Often, elements in wood, such as screens, porches and balconies, were added to stone structures . The surviving examples are similar in their broad layout, though the design evolved over the centuries . </P>

Pillared halls where the buddhist monks worshipped were known as