The visit
to this Rock Cut Cave Nos. 09 to 12 and 12, 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 is a
group of 20 caves dating 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 may be a 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, the inscription 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.
The ruins of a large temple and a monolithic pillar are on top of the northern half of the hill.
The Gwalior Archaeological Department conserved the caves in 1921 CE, during the reign of Maharaja Madhava Rao Scindia Alijah Bahadur of Gwalior.
Caves 9-11
The three
caves are small excavations to the side of Cave 8. All three are next to each
other. Their entrance opens north-northwest, and all have damaged Vishnu
carvings. Caves 9 and 10 are rectangular niche-like openings, while Cave 11 is a
bit bigger and has a square plan. Cave 10, the middle one is a bit higher in
its elevation.
Cave No.
12
This cave
looks like a niche. Two dwarapala (attendants) are shown in a standing posture on either side of the cave below the main deity. The cave is dedicated to the lord
Vishnu in his Narasimha Incarnation. It is the earliest known Narasimha image
observed so far. The large shell inscriptions are also noticed on the rock face
which is not deciphered yet. Some scholars mentioned that these inscriptions
are of the pre-Gupta period as the caves and sculptures are cut directly through
the older remains.
LOCATION
OF THE CAVES: CLICK HERE
--- OM
SHIVAYA NAMA---
No comments:
Post a Comment