In ancient times, the major source of water at Kanheri was either water springs in the basaltic hill or stored rainwater. There is evidence of a magnificent water harvesting system at Kanheri. The rainwater was stored in tanks and cisterns which were dug near the cells and on the hilltop. Many of the cisterns were excavated with the help of donations as mentioned in the inscriptions. Most of the cisterns and tanks are interconnected with a network of small channels. An inscription on a boulder opposite cave-41 offers the earliest evidence of the construction of the reservoir in Maharashtra datable to the second century CE.

(Source: Archaeological Survey of India, Mumbai Circle, Mumbai)

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