The visit
to this Rock Cut Cave No. 6, Udaigiri Caves, was a part of the “Bhopal,
Udayagiri Rock Cut Caves, Bhimbetka Rock Shelters, Sanchi, Bhojpur, and
Khajuraho – of Madhya Pradesh Heritage walk” organized by the எண்திசை வரலாற்று மரபுநடைக்குழு, between 25th and 28th December 2024.
This group of 20 caves dates from the 5th Century CE. Caves Nos 1- 18 and
20 caves are near the top, while the remaining ones are at the foot of the
Hill. Cave No. 20 and possibly No. 1 also are Jaina Caves. All the rest are
Hindu. Some of these caves Notably No 5 and 6 possess fine figure sculptures.
The most interesting among them is the huge image of the Boar, the incarnation
of Vishnu. Caves 6,7 and 20 bear Sanskrit inscriptions in Gupta Characters, one dated in Gupta Samvat 82 (401-02 CE) and another in Gupta
Samvat 106 (425-26 CE). Two of these mention the name of the famous Gupta
Emperor Chandragupta-II. Cave No. 7 states that the emperor visited
this spot during his conquest and that the cave was made by Virasena, the
minister for war and peace who accompanied his master.
On the top
of the Northern half of the hill lie the ruins of a big temple and a monolithic pillar.
The Caves
were conserved by the Gwalior Archaeological Department in 1921 CE during the
reign of Maharaja Madhava Rao Scindia Alijah Bahadur of Gwalior.
Cave No. 6
This cave
is known as Sankanika cave after the findings of an inscription inscribed by
the Chief of the local tribe Sankanika who speaks about the victory of
Chandragupta-II, over the north-eastern Malwa region. The cave was excavated in
honor of Lord Sambhu (Shiva). Presently in the yoni-peeda, an unfinished Linga
is erected. The beautiful depiction of Mahishasuramardini tearing the demon
buffalo in two pieces is shown on the temple's outer wall. This is one of
the earliest representations of Mahishasuramardini. The niche (small open
cave) in front of the cave bears broken images of Saptamatrikas (mother
goddess), probably accompanied by Virabhadra of Shiva. The figure of Ganesha is
also considered one of the earliest images of Lord Ganesha.
Ref
Archaeological
Survey of India Display board.
inscriptions in Gupta Characters
inscriptions
PC- Wikipedia
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SHIVAYA NAMA---
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