Page 248 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - India

246  CENTR AL INDIA

Environs (ASI) under Sir John Marshall. It
The Bhimbetka Caves is a was declared a World Heri tage
UNESCO World Heritage Site. Their Site by UNESCO in 1989. Most
prehistoric paintings, dating back of Sanchi’s buildings are within
some 12,000 years, are about 17 an enclosure at the top of the
km (11 miles) south of Bhojpur. 91-m (299-ft) hill, dominated
by the Great Stupa and its four
superb gateways (see pp248–9).
q Sanchi Nearby, to its north, is the smaller
Stupa 3 (built 2nd century BC),
Raisen district. 46 km (29 miles) NE of
Bhopal. £ @ n Gateway Retreat, with its single gateway, which
(07482) 26 6723. _ Chaityagiri Vihara contained the relics of two of
Festival (Nov). the Buddha’s closest disciples,
Sariputra and Maudgalyayana.
The tranquil hill of Sanchi Also within the enclosure
contains one of India’s best- are several monasteries, which
preserved and most extensive are located on the eastern,
Sculpture from the incomplete Bhojeshwar Buddhist sites. From the 3rd western and southern sides.
Temple, Bhojpur century BC to the 7th century Of these the 10th-century
AD, this was a thriving Buddhist Monastery 51 is the most
0 Bhojpur establishment of stupas and interesting, with its courtyard
monasteries. The complex of surrounded by a colonnade,
Bhopal district. 28 km (17 miles)
SE of Bhopal. @ n MP Tourism, buildings at Sanchi therefore behind which are 22 monks’
Bhopal, (0755) 277 4342/8383. shows the development cells. Temple 17, on the
of Buddhist art across eastern side, dates
Founded by the 11th-century different periods, to the 5th century AD.
Paramara king, Raja Bhoj, who stretching over more A flat-roofed structure
also established Bhopal (see than 1,000 years. with columns surmounted
pp244–5), Bhojpur is domin ated Founded by Emperor by double-headed lions,
by the monumental, though Ashoka (see p46), this is the earliest well-
incomplete, Bhojeshwar Temple. whose wife came Votive stupa with preserved example
Impressive sculptures cover from nearby Vidisha, Buddha image of an Indian stone
parts of its unfinished corbelled Sanchi grew and temple, and its style
ceiling and its entrance doorway. prospered under subsequent and features con siderably
Inside, on a tiered platform, is dynasties, largely through the influenced the later develop-
an enormous stone Shiva linga, generous patronage of the rich ment of temple architecture.
2.3-m (8-ft) high and 5.3 m merchants of Vidisha. By the Located below the Great Stupa,
(17 ft) in circumference. Etched 14th century, Buddhism was just outside the enclosure, is
on the paving stones and on the wane in India and Stupa 2 (2nd century BC), whose
rocks in the forecourt are the Sanchi was deserted and half railings are carved with lotus
architect’s detailed plans for forgotten, until it was medallions and mythical beasts.
the finished temple, while “rediscovered” in 1818 by General Also depicted is a horse with
on the northeast side are the Taylor of the Bengal Cavalry. stirrups. Near the South Gateway
remains of a massive earthen Between 1912 and 1919 it was of the Great Stupa lies the broken
ramp used to haul stone up extensively restored by the shaft of an Ashokan Pillar, made
to the roof. Archaeological Survey of India of highly polished stone. It was
The Bhimbetka Cave Paintings
In 1957, the Indian archaeologist VS Wakanker discovered over 1,000 rock shelters in
a sandstone ridge near Bhimbetka village; they were surrounded by thick deciduous
forest. More than 500 of these were covered with paintings done in bold, fluent lines,
with the same power and energy as the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, or the
Kalahari paintings in Africa. The earliest paintings,
from the Upper Paleolithic period, are of large
animals such as bison and rhino, done in red
pigment, with humans drawn in green. The
largest number of paintings are from the
Cave shelter Mesolithic period (8000 to 5000 BC), and depict
at Bhimbetka vignettes of daily life, hunting scenes and a range
of animals including, curiously, a giraffe. Later
caves (1st century AD) show battle scenes and Hindu deities. It Mesolithic period cave painting
was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003. from Bhimbetka

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp696–7 and p710

246-247_EW_India.indd 246 26/04/17 11:44 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
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Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm