UDAYAGIRI CAVES, Vidisha, Videsha
23.550000,77.783300
Description
Twenty man-made rock-cut chambers (note 1), which were used for religious (note 2) and astronomical purposes (note 3), and which contain inscriptions (note 4), are excavated from the soft sandstone exposed on Udayagiri (hill). SITUATION: Indicated as »Udaigarh« (Fort Sunrise) with a symbol for »Cave« (reminiscent of the classical Greek Letter W but with a small circle where the basal gap would be) India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 54 B5). Udayagiri (Udaigiri; Sanskrit: Sunrise Hill; the ancient Vishnupada) is an isolated hill (note 5), about 1.2 km long, trending north-west to south-east), which rises, just above the confluence of the rivers Halali (Besh) and Betwa, to a height of about 105 m above the surrounding plain (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 24: 108-109) or 1554 feet (473.7 m asl, AMS sheet NF43-04 Bhpoal, U502 series, 1959 edition).The hill Udayagiri lies at a distance of 8 km along the road west-north-west from Vidisha (note 6, also: Besnagar, Bhilsa, Bhelsa, Videsha) on the main Dehli - Bombay railway line (Great Indian Peninsula Railway: Midland Section) and 860 km from Bombay (renamed Mumbai) or 46 km north-east of Bhopal, in the Malwa region and in former Gwalior State. To be or not to be confused with the Udayagiri (–>Khandgiri - Udayagiri Caves) in the Cuttack area (Orissa state, Puri district). WATER WORKS: DASS & WILLIS (2002) described from Udayagiri the walls of a »passage-way« (conduit?) excavated along a sphisticated orientation (note 7): The southern wall possesses carved images, cave shrines and a host of shell inscriptions. The opposite, northern wall is practically untouched except for the presence of one small figure, possibly that of Ganga. DASS (2001: 105–155) has uncovered ancient (Gupta Period) water conduits on Udayagiri and, based on a survey of the site, proposed that the water from »a lake« (an open-air water reservoir) situated above the passage-way was collected above the northern wall and allowed to overflow, such that the entire northern wall had water gushing down the side. This was collected and led through a series of shrines in front of Cave 6 to a "lake" (pool) that was situated in front of the Varaha panel in Cave 5.
NOTE 1: LONELY PLANET, India (1993: 713-714; 1997: 770; 2001: 700; 2003: 716) and LONELY PLANET, North India (2001: 859) notices about 20 Gupta period shrines (320-606 AD), of which two are Jain and the other 18 are Hindu. LONELY PLANET, India (2005: 615) notices »about 20 Gupta cave shrines (eight empty) dating from AD 320 to 606; two are Jain and the other 18 are Hindu.« NOTE 2: Indian Antiquary (1885, 14: 61); Indian Antiquary (1889, 18: 185); CUNNINGHAM, A (1878-1879: Archaeological Survey of India Report 10): 34, 46; CORPUS INSCRIPTIONUM INDICARUM (1888, 3: 21, 34, 259); HARLE (1972): On Mahisasuramardini images.- NOTE 3: SHARAN & BALASUBRAMANIAM (2004) analysed the Sanakanika inscription of Udayagiri »Cave 6« and determined the date according to modern calendar: »This day was 26 June 402 AD, close to the summer solstice of that year (22 June). The angle of cut of the most important passageway at Udayagiri was specially designed based on astronomical calculations. There is no shadow along the passageway at noon only in the period around summer solstice. The early morning sunlight falls along the passageway, only in the time period around the summer solstice. This study proves the advanced state of astronomical knowledge that existed during the time of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (AD 375–414).« NOTE 4: WILLIS, M (2001): Inscriptions at Udayagiri: Locating domains of devotion, patronage and power in the eleventh century.- South Asian Studies (2007), vol. 17: 48. FLEET, J F (1888): Inscriptions of the early Gupta kings and their successors.- Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum 3: 324–327. NOTE 5: »Oodeghir« (CUNNINGHAM, A 1847: 755) is indicated as »Udayagiri 1554« (473.7 m asl) on AMS sheet NF43-04 Bhopal (U502 series, 1959 edition). To be or not to be confused: Udayagiri 23°33'N: 77°47'E village and caves (also: Oodeghir, Udaigir, Udaya Giri) in Madhya Pradesh (Vidisha district), AMS sheet NF43-04 (Bhopal, 1959), India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 54 B5. Udayagiri 20°45'N: 86°19'E village in Orissa (Jajapur district) AMS sheet NF45-14 (Cuttack, 1959) but not in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 89 H2. Udayagiri 20°38'N: 86°16'E hill and ruins (also: Udaygiri) in Orissa (Jajapur district), AMS sheet NF45-14 (Cuttack, 1959), India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 89 G2. Udayagiri 20°16': 85°47'E rock chambers (also: Khandgiri / Khandgiri - Udaygiri) in Orissa (Khordha district) west of Bhubaneshwar, not on AMS sheet NF45-14 (Cuttack, 1959) but in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 89 F3. Udayagiri 20°08': 84°23'E village (also: Udaigiri, Ghumusar Udayagiri) in Orissa (Khandamal district), AMS sheet NF45-13 (Angul, 1945 edition), India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 88 C4.Udayagiri 19°10'N: 84°09'E village (also: Ramagiri Udayagiri) in Orissa (Gajapati district) AMS sheet NE45-01 (Berhampur, 1959 edition), India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 97 F1. Udayagiri 14°52'N: 79°19'E village in Andhra Pradesh (Nellore district), AMS sheet ND44-05 /Cuddapah, 1956), India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006) map 109 F3. NOTE 6: Vidisha / Bhilsa 23°32'N: 77°49'E (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) or Bhilsa / Bhelsa 23°31'E: 77°49'E: 1546 feet = 471 m asl (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 8: 105), also: Vidisa.NOTE 7: DASS & BALASUBRAMANIAN (2004 figure 1) show the lay of the Udayagiri site and the passageway.
Documents
Bibliography 25/06/2016- Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum 1888; Cunningham, Alexander (Archaeological Survey of India Report 10) 1878-1879; Cunningham, J D 1847; Dass, M I 2001; Dass, M I & Balasubramaniam, R 2004; Dass, M I & Willis, M 2002; Harle, J C 1972; Indien Handbuch 1984, 1994, 1998; Lonely Planet, India 1981, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005; Lonely Planet, North India 2001; Marzolla, Giorgio 1975; Mitra, Debala 1960; Rousselet, Théophile Louis 1875, 1877; Sharan, Anand M & Balasubramaniam, R 2004.
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | SHIVA, Udayagiri, Vidisha (Cave of) | ||
| 3.9 | NICHAIGIRI SILAVESMAN | ||
| 10.2 | SONAURI SHELTERS | ||
| 18.8 | KHARKOD ROCK SHELTERS | ||
| 18.8 | GHATLA ROCK SHELTERS | ||
| 18.8 | GOPALPUR ROCK SHELTER | ||
| 24.6 | MOGHA ROCK SHELTERS | ||
| 26.0 | RAMACHHAJJA ROCK SHELTERS | ||
| 26.0 | RAM-CHHAJJA ROCK-SHELTERS |