Cave 3 is an incomplete vihara (monastery) that was started in 477 CE and of which only the preliminary excavation of the pillared verandah was completed. It was probably commissioned by a patron from the Vakataka period. This cave was excavated in a stretch of rock up above the earlier Caves 2 and 4 that must have still been available at the time. In the same year, Harisena died and work on the cave had to be abandoned and only a rough entrance for the hall had been excavated by then. Cave 3 has a low ceiling probably because it was economical and would at the same time take best advantage of the cooling effect of the surrounding mountain mass.

References:

• Debala Mitra, Ajanta, 1964.
• Walter Spink, Ajanta: A Brief History and Guide, 1990.
• Walter Spink, Volume 18/5 Ajanta: History and Development: Cave By Cave, 2007.