Vidisha India

Category:- All India Travel Tourism > City Guide > Madhya Pradesh > Vidisha

Vidisha or Besnagar as it is called in the Pali scriptures, once the prosperous capital of the western dominions of the Sungas, contains some remarkable antiquities that throw light on the considerable architectural development of the period.

Situated in the fork of the Betwa and Bes rivers, Vidisha, 10 km from Sanchi, occupies an important place amongst the ancient cities in India. In the 6th and 5th centuries BC, it rose to become an important trade centre and a bustling city under the Sungas, Nagas, Satvahanas and Guptas. The Emperor Ashoka was governor of Vidisha, and it finds mention in Kalidasa's immortal Meghdoot. Deserted for three centuries after the 6th century, it was renamed Bhilsa by the Muslims who built the now ruined Bija Mandal, a mosque constructed from the remains of Hindu temples. It later passed on to the Malwa Sultans, the Mughals, and the Scindias.

The ruins of a Brahmanical shrine at Vid

isha, dedicated to Vishnu, reveal that the foundation bricks were cemented together with lime mortar, the first known example of the use of cement in India. The ruins are what remains of possibly the oldest known Brahmanical stone structure, dated not later than 2 BC.

Vidisha museum has a superb collection of Besnagar's earliest antiquities, dating from the Sunga period; 9th century sculptures, and terracota objects, representing the art that flourished under Parmara patronage. Highlights of the collection from Besnagar are the Surya and Chamundi figures, the Yakshi and the Ramagupta inscriptions.

The Lohangi rock, Gumbaz-ka-Maqbara, and Bijamandal Mosque, standing on the foundations of a temple, are also worth a visit.

Architecturally, the Pillar, with its bell capital carrying a figured super-structure, resembles the Ashoka Pillar, but is much smaller in size with more slender proportions. The lower portion of the shaft is octagonal, the upper, sixteen-sided, with a panel above of thiry two facets. The carvings have Buddhist motifs such as a border with geese in pairs as well as Hellenic ones such as the honeysuckle and the bead-moulding.

Udayagiri Caves
Cut into the sandstone hill, five km from Vidisha and 3 km from Sanchi are a group of rock-cut cave sanctuaries. An inscription in one of these, states that it was produced during the reign of Chandragupta II (382-401 AD), thus dating these caves to 4-5 AD.

The 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 intercolomination, the design of the entranceway and the system of continuing the architrave as a string-course round the structure.

They have been numbered probably according to the sequence in which they were excavated, beginning with Cave 1, which has a fontage adapted out of a natural ledge of rock, thus forming both the roof of the cella 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 a plant trailing from its brim, an allegory which has produced the vase and flower motif, one of the most graceful forms in Indian architecture."

Characterised by richly carved facades and doorways, the shrines are progressively more spacious and more ornate. Cave No. 9 is remarkable for its large cell and massive, 8 feet high pillars, its long portico and pillared hall. Throughout, there is evidence that master craftsmen of Besnagar practiced their art with skill and artistry under the Guptas, four centuries later. Cave No. 5 is awe-inspiring in the sheer magnificence of the vision of its builders: here, a massive carving depicts Vishnu, in his Varaha (Boar) incarnation, holding the earth goddess Prithvi aloft upon one tusk. Yet another stupendous sculpture is of the reclining Vishnu.

Gyraspur
41 km north-east of Sanchi, Gyraspur was a place of considerable importance in the medieval period. Here, in the ruins called Athakhambe (eight pillars) and Chaukhambe (four pillars) are what remains of the columned halls of two temples belonging to the 9th and 10th centuries AD. The faceted shafts of Athakhambe with their extreme delicacy of carving testify to the high degree of craftsmanship during the period. Other monuments of note at Gyraspur are of the early 10th century: Bajra Math and Mala Devi Temple, the latter distinguished by its carved pillars with foliated motifs, representatives of the richest post-Gupta style. The town's name is derived from the big fair which used to be held here in the 11th month, sometimes known as Gyaras.

Udaypur

90 km from Bhopal via Vidisha and Ganj Basoda is Udaypur. The colossal Neelkantheswara temple here is an outstanding example of Parmara art architecture of the 11th century AD. The crowning beauty of this temple lies in its well-proportioned and gracefully designed spire or shikhar, and delicately carved medallions adorning its sides. The fascinating spire is perhaps unrivalled in beauty in the whole array of Indian temples. Built of fine red sandstone and standing on a lofty platform, the temple consists of a garbha-griha (shrine room), a sabha mandap (hall) and three pravesha mandaps (entrance porches).

Bijamandal, Sahi Masjid and Mahal, Sher Khan-ki-Masjid and Pisnari-ka-Mandir are some of the other monuments in Udaypur.