Udaygiri Caves

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Udaygiri caves are situated in Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh in India. These caves are at a distance of 4 km from Vidisha and 13 km from Sanchi. Udaygiri is word of Sanskrit language meaning – sunrise hills. These are a group of rock-cut caves sanctuaries carved into a sandstone hill that stands sentinel-like on the horizon. An inscription in one of these states that it was produced during the reign of Chandragupta II (382-401AD), thus dating these caves to 4th - 5th century AD. The use of the word "cave" is a bit of a misnomer, since these are not natural, but instead examples of rock-cut architecture.

The Udaygiri caves possess all the distinctive features that gave Gupta art its unique vitality, vigour and richness of expression; the beautifully moulded capitals, the treatment of the intercolumniation, the design of the entrance way and the system of continuing the architrave as a stringcourse around the structures.

They have been numbered probably according to the sequence in which they were excavated, beginning with Cave 1, which has a frontage adapted out of a natural ledge of rock, thus forming both the root of the cave and its portico. The row of four pillars bear the ‘vase and foliage’ pattern of which the eminent art historian Percy Brown so eloquently says: “the Gupta capital typifies a renewal of faith, the water nourishing the plant trailing from its brim, and allegory which has produced vase and flower motif, one of the most graceful forms in Indian architecture”.

The shrines are progressively more spacious and ornate. Cave No.9 is remarkable for its large ceiling and massive, 8 feet high pillars, its long portico and pillared hall. Throughout, there is evidence that the master craftsmen of Besnagar practised their art with skill and artistry under the Guptas. Four centuries later. In Cave No. 5 a massive carving depicts Vishnu in his Varaha avatar, aloft one tusk. Yet another stupendous sculpture is of the reclining Vishnu. Taken as a whole, this group is a rich representation of the vitality and strength of Gupta art and architecture.