Udaigiri Caves/Udayagiri Caves, Rock Cut Cave No. 19, Udaigiri, Madhya Pradesh.

The visit to this Rock Cut Cave No. 19, 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 25^th and 28^th 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 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.

 

The ruins of a large temple and a monolithic pillar are on top of the northern half of the hill.

A 19th-Century British Period Structure

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. 19

The cave is known as 'Amrit Cave' because of the episode of Amritmanthan/Samudramanthan carved on the lintel portion of its much-elaborated doorway. The scene depicts the well-known story of Samudramanthan (churning of the ocean for obtaining nectar) and shows the mountain Mandar/Meru in the center on the back of Kurma (tortoise), the second incarnation of Vishnu, with the mythical snake Vasuki coiling around and forming a rope by which gods and demons churned the ocean. The images of river goddesses Ganga and Yamuna are also depicted in the upper part of the doorway with their respective vehicles crocodiles and tortoises. This cave has a Sanskrit Inscription dated 11th century CE.

This Cave 19 is also called the "Amrita Cave". This is dedicated to Shaivism. It is close to Udayagiri village. It is the largest cave in the Udayagiri Caves group, being 22 feet (6.7 m) long by 19.33 feet (5.89 m) broad. It has four massive square cross-sections, 8 feet (2.4 m) high pillars which support the roof. The pillars have intricately decorated capitals with four horned and winged animals standing on their hind legs, and touching their forefeet touch their mouths. The roof of the cave, states Cunningham, is divided "into nine square panels by the architraves crossing over the four pillars". The temple was likely much larger with its mandapa in front, given the structural evidence in the form of ruins.

The doorway of Cave 19 is more extensively ornamented than other caves. The pilasters are of the same pattern as the pillars inside. River goddesses Ganga and Yamuna flank the doorway. Above is a long deeply carved sculpture representing the Samudra manthan mythology, depicting Suras and Asuras churning the cosmic ocean. It is this narrative of this Hindu myth that led Cunningham to propose the name of the cave to be "Amrita Cave". There is a carving near Cave 19 that shows Parvati's family, that is Shiva, Ganesha, and Kartikeya. The cave has two Shiva lingas, of which one is a Mukhalinga (linga with face). This cave had a Sahastralinga (main linga with many subsidiary lingas), which was moved to the ASI museum in Sanchi.

Inscription

This Cave 19 has a Sanskrit inscription in Nagari script dated 1036 CE by a common pilgrim named Kanha, who donated resources to the temple, and the inscription expresses his devotion to Vishnu.

LOCATION OF THE CAVES: CLICK HERE

--- OM SHIVAYA NAMA---