Monday, June 11, 2012

Varaha Cave, Udaygiri

In Udaygiri of Madhya Pradesh the most important site is Varaha Cave. This is a early 5th century AD cave belonging to the Gupta period. More than cave this is a shallow niche.



Here one can see Lord Vishnu in Boar-headed incarnation, the Varaha. The relief depicts Varaha rescuing the Earth Goddess from the engulfing Ocean. Large Varaha which is 4 meter in height lifts Bhu Devi on his massive shoulder, while with his foot he subduing a naga who folds his hands in submission. There are also Gods and sages surround Varaha. Above his head there is also a circular lotus flower.



Just to get an idea of how big the relief work is see the below image.



This sculptural work can also seen from the road, even before entering the site.

50 comments:

eileeninmd said...

The detail on the sculptures is beautiful. Lovely photos, Rajesh!

PAT said...

Incredible images and mosaic.

anney said...

Interesting story of this beautiful cave relief!

Ranj said...

Very ancient. Lovely works.

Vee said...

It must be much larger than I'm imagining if one can see it from the road before entering. You travel so much! You must love it.

Ramakrishnan said...

Wow. This is amazing !

Cloudia said...

Amazing!



Aloha from Waikiki,
Comfort Spiral
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Sridharan said...

Superb pics.. Cute kids appear tiny against the giant backdrop..!

Ranjana's craft blog said...

Oh! The Varaha Statue is very big!

Ingmarie We said...

Very interesting! Have a fine week.

Jeevan said...

Amazing details and narrative on the wall carvings! The grandness of the Varaha is impressive at the last pic!

R Niranjan Das said...

Well captured.

www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.com

Lowell said...

Fantastic! And thanks for the commentary...that really helped understand the carving. Tools for carving must have been quite crude in the 5th century!

RIZALENIO said...

This is like a scene in a movie. Fantastic sculpture. I love it.

Carol said...

The work is fantastic, such detail.
Your boys are adorable!

Al said...

That's huge - the kids give a sense of scale that isn't clear in the first images. Great shots!

Vineeta Yashsavi said...

nice post...

Carver said...

The stonework is magnificent.

Unknown said...

Incredible site!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Sylvia K said...

So much history and beauty in your world, Rajesh! Thanks for sharing it all with us! Enjoy your week!

Sylvia

Janice / Dancing with Sunflowers said...

Fascinating, Rajesh. And the inclusion of the two little boys really does lend another perspective to the size of the sculpture.

Arija said...

Marvellous, not only the massive sculpture but also the way it tells a whole story. Thank you for sharing these very realistic images from such an early age.

Zuzana said...

Wonderful carvings, it is amazing what beautiful sculptures were once made, and this even inside a cave;) Are those your kids? Very cute.;)
xoxo

Meoww said...

Interesting and huge art! Never seen any sculpture of Varaha avatar before. And always thought Bhuma Devi would be depicted as a sperical earth as in Amar Chitra Katha!

Loved your post

Unknown said...

I love your travels through India. I belong to a group of associates of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth from my home town. Our sisters went to India in the 1950s and have been there teaching, ministering since. The only town I know are Mokama New Delhi and also in Napal. There are 4 Indian sisters visiting here now. I signed up as a follower but have not visited much. I have lost out on this beautiful post and I will return.
QMM

Anonymous said...

So much history and beauty!

And what cute kids in that last shot.

Leovi said...

Very interesting. Impressive sculptures, very nice.

Alice said...

Wow really very interesting. The statue is really very huge. Thanks for sharing these beautiful works.

Fun60 said...

I am glad you added the children to the photo as the sheer scale of those sculptural reliefs would have eluded me. It is many years since I visited India(35+)and your blog is bringing back such wonderfu lmemories.

Liz said...

These are gorgeous!

Japanese Lantern

Margaret Gosden said...

I imagine it is terracotta colour in the background - very handsome wall sculpture! I like the contrast in size to the young ones!

Black Jack's Carol said...

How incredible to see this! Thank you for explaining the details of this beautiful sculpture. It amazes me that through a blog like this, I can see back to the early 5th century AD.

Roger Owen Green said...

interesting imagery!

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

George said...

This is an amazing sculpture, with marvelous detail. Thanks for showing the size in your last photo.

NatureStop said...

Interesting posta nd great images to go with it.

Shantana

Kim, USA said...

Love caves and this one is something else pretty unique!

Kim,USA

Dyanna said...

Great photos. I especially loved the last one with the two little boys!

Stewart M said...

Hi there - such a great thing to see.

I think many people from around the world forget how advanced the societies that produced this sort of art really were.

Splendid post.

Stewart M - Australia

TTT said...

wow ! and the kids look so cute and tiny in comparison to the statue ...:)

Chubskulit Rose said...

Such interesting carvings.

Eye View
Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

Kay L. Davies said...

Very large, very interesting statue, Rajesh.
The boys are so cute!
K

SJ said...

Wooh it is breathtaking. I am originally from MP but never got a chance to visit it!!

awesome images

www.styledestino.blogspot.com

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Oh my gosh, thanks for putting this into perspective by including the little boys -- these are huge sculptures.

Eden said...

Impressive works. Beautiful photos as always.

Suzy said...

Beautiful and interesting. thanks for sharing. So much beauty and history in India. Mera Bharat Mahan.
A nice take on the V prompt.
Here's mine La Vie En Rose

Rajesh said...

Thank you for all the appreciation. I am glad you all liked it.

Anonymous said...

Very well presented. Thanks for bringing many ancient places into lime light.

Anonymous said...

nice you showed the kids for depicting the size !
Nice captures brother ! :)

Anonymous said...

Enchanting pictures Rajesh.

Deepa Gopal said...

Just Incredible!!!