In Udaygiri (State: Madhya Pradesh) which is 13kms away from Sanchi there are a series of rock-cut sanctuaries and images excavated into hillside. These carvings in the caves are carved during the Gupta Empire between 4th and 5th Century. The literal translation of Udaygiri is the 'Mountain of the Sunrise'.
The caves here are numbered for convenience of identifying. The most famous sculpture is the monumental figure of Vishnu in his incarnation as the boar-headed Varaha. Another interesting sculpture is that of Shivlinga where hair is tied up into a topknot.
I think there are alltogether 14 to 16 caves. I could explore only few caves due to shortage of time. This was the last place that I visited during my trip of Madhya Pradesh state. We shall explore the following caves in detail very soon.
46 comments:
Amazing photos of such ancient places!
You travel quite extensively, which must be lovely. Everything is always so interesting and culturally so very different from anything I know. I'll be interested in those caves you're going to feature.
Madhya Pradesh is now on my travel wish list after reading all your post on it.
The sculptures of Hari(in the form of Varaha) and Hara(in the form of Shivalinga) are both very very interesting.Such variants in sculpture are really not common.Thanks for exploring!
Very interesting sculptures! Beautiful carving.
beautiful
Fine architecture, captured so very well.
Wow, beautiful carvings. Lovely mosaic, Rajesh!
Wow , there are some many udaygiris in India .
Interesting sculptures rajesh!
Very interesting, caves fascinate me.;)
xoxo
Love that sculpture in the last photo.
Can't wait to see the caves.
Beautiful pics, I love exploring caves and historical monuments. I hope someday I get to travel to Udaygiri and visit these beautiful old caves.
Once more very elaborate carvings! Quite impressive and i am sure there's a lot to discover in all these caves!
Such an interesting post and terrific captures as always, Rajesh! I do love the amazing detail in the carvings! Hope you have a great week!
Sylvia
Nice shots, I'm looking forward to seeing more.
a treasure!
I love this kind of works in stone. They are true works of art.
Greetings
Roberto, Rio de Janeiro
An unusual place with historic sculptures. Thanks for sharing.
There is one in one of the Ellora caves. Great pics.
The caves seem like a fascinating place to explore.
lovely sculptures.thanks for sharing.
Beautiful carvings, and to think of all the work that went into making them. Quite astounding.
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Delighted and happy to enjoy the beautiful sculptures that we give. Greetings.
very cool!
It is fascinating to think that these things were carved in caves so very long ago and that they've been preserved so well over the years!
Very interesting story about the sculpture. Looking forward to seeing the caves.
Amazing what people could do so long ago! Thanks for sharing.
The determination to do that in caves is marvellous. Another excellent post.
quite UNUSUAL!
ROG, ABC Wednesday team
Very interesting, as always.
U is for...
The carvings are beautiful. I look forward to seeing the two caves you explored in detail.
Very interesting photo.
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Great shot!
Looks a fascinating place to explore.
Interesting post for the U today.
Beautiful carvings. Great shots.
Great captures of wonderful carvings!
Thanks for sharing:o)
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Thank you all for appreciating the sculptures. We shall explore about them in more detail.
Wow! These sculptures are wonderful.
Thanks for sharing a bit of history.
Amazing caves from the Gupta period - Gupta Dynasty is considered the Golden Age in Indian history considering the peace and harmony that prevailed for many centuries devoid of war - and great growth in art, architecture, sculpture, paintings etc.
I can't wait to see how your pictures in the caves turned out! What a wonderful place this must be. Just the name (thank you for supplying the translation) is beautiful!
I have been there years back...so the pics made me nostalgic.
The best sculpture are on the pillars, arches and to the rear of the courtyard...aah! mountain of the sunrise:) beautiiful shot!
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Thank you all for the appreciation.
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