TARA CHANDI DEVI (Cave of)
24.916700,84.066700
Description
A south-facing, sacred, modified natural rock shelter (temple cave), which lies about 3 km or 5 km approximately east-south-east the from Sasaram (note 1), recorded BUCHANAN (1926: 34-35) from a location he reached by going from Saseram »Tilautta [note 2] … by a passage between the hills [Tarachandi Gap] … The pass is not very difficult, ascending by the side of the Kudra river … At the top of the pass has been carved on the ledge of the rock and image called [note 3] … which seems to me to represent a woman sitting on a man's knee, but not in the usual form of Hargauri, and so besmeared with oil and red lead that I am not certain about its form. Near it is a natural excavation of the rock aided by a little art [which] forms a shed were some people sit daily to sell provisions to votaries and passengers. On a ledge of the rock within this is a very long inscription (note 4) in the Deva Nagari character.« BANURJI (1877: 33-34) reports a »nymph dressed in ochre - coloured clothes who appeare to be the keeper of the temple« and describes: »The cave faces the south, and is at the extremity of the ridge which breaks in at the pass which affords the only throroughfare to the country in the east … The cave adjoins the shrine, is enfaced with a masonry wall, in which there is one door. A veranda fronts this wall, and rests on a row of slender stone pillars overlooking the pass. The cave has therefore one artificial and three natural sides, although the side walls are partly made up of masonry, to make the room rectangular. In the rear wall or rock, there is … a long inscription [in Upendravajra metre and Srag-dhara metre] … dated Samvat 1226, or 1173 A.D …«
NOTE 1: Sasaram (Sahesaram), N24°57': E084°02' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003). NOTE 2: Tilothu N24°48': E084°05' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003).NOTE 3: OLDHAM (in BUCHANAN [HAMILTON] 1926): »Blank in the manuscript. This is Chandi Devi.« NOTE 4: OLDHAM (in BUCHANAN [HAMILTON] 1926: 35): »… local chieftain Pratapadhavala (dated Vikrama, Samvat 1225) … Buchanan's pandit apparently did not see the Ashoka inscription (I.A., VI: 155; XXII: 299).«
Documents
Bibliography 08/06/2016- Banurji, Chandrasekhara 1877; Buchanan (Hamilton), Francis 1812-1813 (edited by Oldam, C E A W 1926); Indian Archaeology 187-1876, 1891-1892.
Histoire
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1173: Maharaja Ail (Pratap Dhaval Ail?) had arranged for an inscription. 1811.12.12: Francis BUCHANAN (later HAMILTON 1926 edited by OLDHAM): 34-35 visited the site.
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0 | CHANDAN SHAHID PIR (Dargah ka) | ||
| 11.4 | TELHARKUND ROCK SHELTERS | ||
| 31.6 | GUPTADHAM | ||
| 94.5 | YONI DVARA, Gaya | ||
| 95.6 | JAYACHCHANDRA CAVE | ||
| 96.5 | KRISHNA CAVE, Gaya | ||
| 99.9 | Barabar Caves | ||
| 100.3 | RUDRAKA CAVE | ||
| 101.3 | PRAGBODHI CAVE, Kiryama: Dhongra Pahar |