MORHANA PAHAR
24.816700,82.150000
Description
At least four, north-facing »caves« (KOSAMBI, D D 1959a etc., SMITH, V A 1906) or deep rock shelters of »solutional origin« (ALLCHIN, B 1958: 153) are known from the Morhana Pahar, a rocky outcrop of Precambrian (Vindhyan) sandstone , which yielded (note 1) stone age tools and contain rock art (drawings) depicting armed men, horses, chariots, etc: »In all the habitable caves and shelters every available flat surface on the walls and ceiling has numerous paintings in shades of orange, red, purple and occasionally creamy white« (ALLCHIN, B 1958: 154). ETYMOLOGY: So far, I saw the rocky outcrop (or the cave / rock shelter itself) called, transcribed, spelled or edited as Mirzapur Cave KOSAMBI, D D (1959a revised 1960a; 1962 / 1993: 26, 40 note 19, 94, 105-106; 1991: 115) Morahana Pahar POSSEHL, G L (1988: 188) Morahma Pahar Cave SMITH, V A (1906) Morana Pahar SIEVEKING, G de G (1960: 98) Morhana Pahar ALLCHIN, B (1958); NEUMEYER, E (1993: 21 map 5) Morhanapahar VARMA, R K (1964); VERMA, R K (1965: 73-76, 1984: 211, 251) Morhana Parar MORHANA PARAR (1959). SITUATION (after ALLCHIN, B 1958: 153): On the north-western edge of the Rewa plateau of the Panna Hills and at a travelling distance of »42 miles« (67 km) along the »Great Deccan Road« (National Highway 7) south-west of Mirzapur town (N25°09': E082°35') and close to the border of Uttar Pradesh (Mirzapur districts) and Madhya Pradesh (Rewa district). The site lies at travelling distances of about 5 km approximately west of the NH7 from Mirzapur south-west to Jabalpur (N23°10': E079°57'), about 8 km north of the village of Hanumana (note 2) and »near« (sic!) the village of Bainsaur (note 3) in the Morhana Pahar, a rocky outcrop (note 4), which overlooks the Belan Nadi, a river & canal in the Ganges Valley. GEOLOGY: Captain James FRANKLIN (1829: 25, 42) »ascended [27th November 1826] the second range of hills [the first were the Mirzapur Hills] at the pass of Kattra, and found near the top of it [where Morhana Pahar must be] a stratum of red and bluish green slaty marle interstratified with sand-stone in thin laminæ, and surmounted at the top by variegated sand-stone; these beds resembled the red marle [sic! now: marl] of England.« ARCHAEOLOGY - stone tools: CARLLEYLE (1883) announced in Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (JASB) a forthcoming full report (note 5), which, however, never appeared (SMITH 1899 in COCKBURN 1899: 89 note 1; SMITH 1906: 186 note 3; ALLCHIN & ALLCHIN 1993: 85). Vincent A. SMITH (1906: 185-195, with plate) shows »pygmy flints« (microliths) collected from sites titled Bagh Kor, Morahma Pahar Cave and Gharwi Pahari Cave) and quotes at some length from Carlleyle’s unpublished manuscript notes (placed at his disposal by Rev. A.C. Gatty) where Carlleyle described in general terms the nature of the »caves, rock hollows and rock shelters« and the rock paintings and stone tools which they contained. POSSEHL (1988: 188): Sample TF-188 has been radiocarbon dated (TATA IV) to 1530 ±95 BP, calibrated to 395-600 CE. CULTURAL HISTORY - rock art: The drawings are reproduced in ALLCHIN, B (1958 plate M opposite page 153) figures "a" and "b") and in KOSAMBI, D D (1962; 1982; 1991: 115, fig. 8; 1993: 27, ill. 1.17). KOSAMBI (1959a revised 1960a), KOSAMBI (1962 / 1993: 26, 40 note 19, 94, 105-106) and KOSAMBI (1991: 115) dated the cave paintings, which show raiding horse charioteers, of whom one is about to hurl a wheel or missile discus (sudarsana), to about 1000 to 800 BC. KOSAMBI (1960b: 29) describes »a manned two-horse chariot and a four-horse chariot respectively. The latter is under attack by two men on foot, one armed with bow and arrow, the other with a shield and a spear (maze?). The rider of the two-horse chariot rises high in his right hand neither the "Shield" nor "solar disc" of Mrs. Allchin's surmises but a spoked disc … The sharp discus as a missile weapon seems to be restricted to Gangetic Vishnu - Krishna - Vasudeva legends. It was with the cast of such a cakra [chakra] that the god struck off the crocodile's head in the gajendra-moksa episode and his dark incarnation beheaded the offensive king Sisupala [Shishupala] of Cedi –a Mahabharata kingdom somewhere in the region of the caves. The cave drawing proves that the missile discus was in actual use.« Sorry, it only proves that the legend was known to the painters. VERMA (1984: 211) reports the painting of twelve horned deer from »Morahanapahar shelter No 1.«
NOTE 1: The site is variously referred to as Mirzapur Cave (KOSAMBI 1959a revised 1960a; 1962 / 1993: 26, 40 note 19, 94, 105-106; 1991: 115), Morahma Pahar Cave (SMITH 1906), Morana Pahar (Sieveking, G. de G. 1960: 98), Morhana Pahar (ALLCHIN 1958; NEUMEYER 1993: 21 map 5), Morhanapahar (VARMA 1964; VERMA 1965: 73-76, 1984: 211, 251) and Morhana Parar (MORHANA PARAR 1959). NOTE 2: NOT SEEN literary sources: BLACK, George F. (a.i. = 1892?): Stone implements from Asia and Africa.- Proc. Scot. Antiq. Soc., 3rd ser., vol. 2, pp. 407-411 [after ALLCHIN 1958: 153, 155]. CARLLEYLE (a.i.): [unknown title].- »Cunningham's Archaeological Survey Report [IAR = Indian archaeology - a review: Report of the Archaeological Survey of India], no. VI: 107« (as quoted in IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 2: 99). CARLLEYLE (a.i.): [unspecified title = Report of tours in Gorakhpur and Ghazipur?].- »Cunningham's Archaeological Survey Report [Indian archaeology - a review: Report of the Archaeological Survey of India], no. xxii: 97-117« (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 2: 99). CARLLEYLE (1885): Report of tours in Gorakhpur and Ghazipur.- Archæological Survey of India Report, XXII: [after ALLCHIN, B 1958: 153, 155]. WILSON, Thomas (1892): Minute stone implements from India.- Ann. Rep. Smiths. Inst., Rep. U.S. Nat. Mus. , p. 455-460« (ALLCHIN 1958: 153, 155).NOTE 3: »Hanumana« with Forest Rest House (ALLCHIN, B 1958) or »Hanmanna« near 24°26'15”N: 82°04'15”E: 371.6 m asl (1219 feet, FRANKLIN, J 1929: 42) is not shown on India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) maps 56 D1 or 57 E1) but marked »Hanumanhana« (or so) near 25°46'N: 82°05'E and at a travelling distance of »10 miles« (about 16 km) approximately south-west of the Drummondganj (24°53'N: 82°10'E) or »Doummondganj« (India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth 2006: 57 E1). NOTE 4: »Bainsaur« (GOSH 1957: 13-14, 1967: 39) and »Bainswara / Bainshod« (ALLCHIN, B 1958: 153) or »Beinsor / Bainsaur« (VERMA 1964) is the »Bainsaur« near 24°47'N: 82°07'E (Everest 1830) on the Survey of India sheet 63-L (1984 edition) and on AMS sheet NG44-15 Rewa (U502 series, 1959 edition).NOTE 5: »Morhana Pahar proved to be a group of caves or deep rock shelters which lie on the top of the escarpment of the Vindhyan hills, overlooking the Ganges valley from the south. The caves… are formed by the dissolution of the lower strata of a number of great blocks of Vindhyan sandstone which stand in a group on the edge of the plateau. The surface of the plateau at this point is sparsely forested in places, and broken at intervals by further groups of sandstone rocks, like those of Morhana Pahar. Between some of these are tiny cultivated patches of kodon (a small variety of millet). The nearest habitation is several miles distant, and the area is used mainly for grazing cattle and collecting firewood. Immediately west of the caves a small permanent stream breaks through the plateau edge to the plain below, providing a convenient source of water. The change at the edge of the escarpment is dramatic: the land drops away steeply, and patches of bare rock and scree alternate with bamboo and forest trees which cling to the hillside. Over 700 feet [circa 200 m] below lies the intensely cultivated Ganges plain. Despite its apparent proximity to the plain Morhana Pahar is an isolated and unfrequented spot, for not only escarpment, but an immense physical and cultural dichotomy divides the sparsely populated plateau edge from the plain below. Further south, where the soil is more productive, the life of the plains seems to reappear for a time in a modified form, but here on the northern edge of the Vindhyas one is in a world apart, cut off from the main streams of human life today, and possibly also in the past« (ALLCHIN, B1958: 153). NOTE 6: Instead of referring to this announcement (JASB 1883), DRAKE BROCKMANN (1911: District Gazetteer, Mirzapur) misleads to »JRAS 1889« (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1889) while KOSAMBI, D D (1992) misleads to »JRAS 1885« (Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1885). NOTE 7: »Kattra« (FRANKLIN, J 1829: 42) is probably the small town of Katra 24°55'N: 081°41'E on the Panna Plateau (Panna Hills, part of the Vindhyan Ranges) shown on AMS sheet NG44-15 Rewa (U502 series, 1959 edition) and in the India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth 2006: 56 D1) on the National Highway NH 27. Not to be confused with Katra »section of populated place« (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003), a quarter of the city of Allahabad (25°27'N: 081°51'E in Uttar Pradesh) on AMS sheet (NG44-11 Allahabad, U502 series, 1961 edition), India Road Atlas, Eicher Goodearth (2006: 39 H4).
Documents
Bibliography 27/04/2016- Allchin, Bridget 1958; Allchin, Bridget & Allchin, F Raymond 1993; Black, George F ai (= 1892?); Carlleyle, Archibald Campbell 1883, 1895 (?) for 1891-1892, 1906 (in: Smith, Vincent Arthur 1906); Cockburn, John 1899; District Gazetteer of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh: Mirzapur, edited by Drake Brockmann, D L 1911; Franklin, James 1829; Kosambi, Damodar Dharmanand 1959, 1960c, 1962, 1982, 1991, 1993; Mahabharata, s.a., circa -300 to 300; Neumayer, Erwin 1993; Possehl, G L 1988; Sieveking, G de G 1960; Smith, Vincent Arthur 1899 (in: Cockburn, J 1899), 1906; Varma [Verma?], Radha Kant 1964; Verma [Varma?], Radha Kant 1965, 1984; Wilson, Thomas 1892.
Histoire
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1826.11.27: Captain James FRANKLIN (1829: 42) left »Kattra« (note 7) in one »first range of hills« (Mirzapur Hills) to ascent the »second range of Hills« for »Hanmanna« without noticing any rock shelters on the way. 1880 or 1881: "First discovered" by Achibald Campbell Carlleyle, First Assistant, Archæological Survey of India, under General Alexander Cunningham (ALLCHIN, B 1958: 153; CARLEYLLE 1885; WILSON 1892; SMITH, V C in: COCKBURN J. 1899: 89 note 1; SMITH 1906: 186 note 3). 1957-1958, winter: Bridget ALLCHIN (1958: 153-155) identified the site.
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.6 | DRUMMONDGANJ SHELTERS | ||
| 10.5 | LAHARIADIH ROCK SHELTER 1 | ||
| 10.5 | LAHARIADIH ROCK SHELTER 2 | ||
| 19.7 | CHANDATARI SHELTERS | ||
| 19.7 | CHANDWA SHELTER | ||
| 19.7 | KOSKANGARHA SHELTER | ||
| 19.7 | LAKHAWAR SHELTERS | ||
| 19.7 | VASAHA SHELTER | ||
| 20.4 | DARIA SHELTER |