Udayagiri Caves

Twenty rock-cut sanctuaries were cut into a sandstone hill at Udayagiri around 400 AD under Chandragupta II, and they matter because they are among the earliest surviving Hindu temple sculpture and carry dated inscriptions that anchor the chronology. Cave 5 holds the great relief: Vishnu in his boar incarnation, Varaha, some four metres high, lifting the personified earth from the ocean while ranks of gods and sages look on and the rivers are shown flowing at his feet. Other caves hold Durga, Ganesha and Jain figures. The hill also carries a passage cut to channel light at the solstice.

Background

The caves are cut into two low hills near the Betwa River, beside its tributary the Bes, about 6 kilometres west of Vidisha and 11 kilometres northeast of Sanchi. Of the twenty caves, one is Jain and the rest Hindu, devoted mainly to Vishnu and Shiva. Inscriptions name Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I, and no other site can be verifiably linked to a Gupta ruler through its inscriptions. The Hindu caves carry inscriptions from 401 CE, and Cave 20 holds a Jain inscription of 425 CE, one of the oldest known. In the Varaha relief, the earth appears as Bhudevi clinging to the boar's tusk. Rock shelters, petroglyphs, water systems and habitation mounds also survive.

Source: Wikipedia, "Udayagiri Caves"

What's there

• The Varaha relief - a four-metre boar incarnation lifting the earth.
• The Gupta caves - twenty sanctuaries with early Hindu sculpture.
• The dated inscriptions - records fixing the site to around 400 AD.
• The hilltop ruins - temple foundations and cut channels above the caves.

When to go

October to March; Madhya Pradesh summers are severe and the hill is exposed. Morning light falls into the caves better. The site is quiet and usually combined with Sanchi.

Before you go

Several caves are damaged or defaced, and some sculpture is heavily weathered. Signage is minimal. There is little shade on the hill and no facilities.

Nearby

Sanchi lies south; Vidisha is east.

Key facts