Cave Temple at Udayagiri

cave temple at udayagiri is incredible. UDAYAGIRI (“UDAYA” means the morning, “GIRI” means the peak . UDAYAGIRI means the peak on which the sunlight falls first).

It is an archaeological-historical site 10 miles north of Sanchi, and few miles from Vidisha which was earlier a royal capital. Udayagiri is famous for a series of rock cut caves and temples.

List of the total 18 Cave Temple at Udayagiri

These caves are known due to several important monuments of history and art. There are total 18 caves in Udayagiri:

Cave 1, Rani gumpha is the largest and more majestic cave. This cave contains the structure of dancing women, royal entourage & musical instrument. Other important caves in this hill are Alkapuri gumpha & Ganesh gumpha. Ganesh gumpha is best known for sculptures of Ganesha and elephants.

ENTRY FEE of CAVE TEMPLE UDAYAGIRI :

• Entry fee for Indians is Rs. 5- 10 per person
• Entry fee for foreigners is 200 – 250 per person

Timing :

It is open for all 7 days from 8:00 AM TO 5:00 PM

CAVE TEMPLE 1 (RANI GUMPHA)

Rani gumpha is the largest and the most majestic cave. It has beautiful sculptures of dancing women and playing musical instruments.

It is a double storeyed cave, it is also known as Rani ka Nour, Queen’s cave & queens palace cave.This cave was mainly used for chants and theatre performance.

CAVE TEMPLE 2 (BAJAGHARA CAVE)

Bajaghara cave is the simple & the smallest cave. It has mainly a stone bed and pillow which was used by Jain monks as a shelter in ancient times.

CAVE TEMPLE 3 (CHOTA HATHI GUMPHA)

It is also known as small elephant cave. It has six small elephants sculptures.

CAVE TEMPLE 4(ALKAPURI GUMPHA)

Alkapuri gumpha is a double storeyed cave which has a sculpture of a lion holding its prey in his mouth.

CAVE TEMPLE 5(JAYA VIJAYA GUMPHA)

Jaya Vijaya gumpha has an image of bodhi tree with an umbrella on its top. It is also a two-storeyed cave.

CAVE TEMPLE 6(PANASA GUMPHA)

Panasa gumpha is the simple and very small cave without any specific features.There is an ochre painting shelter near this cave.

CAVE TEMPLE 7(THAKURANI GUMPHA)

Thakurani gumpha is a double storeyed cave and has very few tiny relief sculptures. It is very simple in style.

CAVE TEMPLE 8(PATALAPURI GUMPHA)

Patalapuri gumpha is slightly bigger than others.It has roughly cut cave with two columns at verandah.

CAVE TEMPLE 9(MANCAPURI GUMPHA)

Mancapuri gumpha is a double storeyed cave with a damaged Jain religious symbol which was probably used for worship.There are mainly three sculptures in this cave, one talks about the chief queen of kharavela & other two talks about the successor of kharavela and badukha, Kudepasiri, the son or brother of Kudepasiri.

CAVE TEMPLE 10(GANESHA GUMPHA)

Ganesha gumpha is one of the most important gumpha. It contains sculptures of Ganesha on back of its right cell.The cave has two big statues of elephants at its entrance. It has got its name due to sculptures of Ganesha and elephant.

CAVE TEMPLE 11(JAMBESWARA GUMPHA)

Jambeswara gumpha is very small and simple. The inscription shows that this was the cave of Nayaki, wife of Mahamade.

CAVE TEMPLE 12(VYAGHRA GUMPHA)

The word ‘vyaghra’ means tiger, it is the most known cave if Udayagiri. This cave’s entrance is like a large mouth of a tiger.

CAVE TEMPLE 13(SARPA GUMPHA)

The word ‘sarpa’ means snake. Sarpa gumpha is very small and unusual cave found in udayagiri.Two inscriptions are found in this cave.

CAVE TEMPLE 14(HATHI GUMPHA)

The word ‘Hathi’ means elephant. This cave is a natural carven. It is also known as elephant cave & hathi gumpha.

CAVE TEMPLE 15(DHANAGHARA GUMPHA)

It is a small wide cave with two wide pillars and sculptures at the entrance.

CAVE TEMPLE 16(HARIDASA GUMPHA)

It is a small cave with the veranda in front size, it has 3 entrances.

CAVE TEMPLE 17(JAGANNATHA GUMPHA)

It is a small cave with three entrances and roughly cut sculptures.

CAVE TEMPLE 18(ROSAI GUMPHA)

It is a very small cave with a single entrance.