EARLY TEMPLES AT UDAIGIRI,TIGAWA AND
SANCHI
- JNANAVI S
Early temples at Udaigiri
They contain some of the oldest surviving Hindu temples and iconography in India. They are
the only site that can be verifiably associated with a Gupta period monarch from its inscriptions.
King Kharavela
The caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri were excavated by King Kharavela (2nd – 1st century
BCE) of the Mahamegavahana dynasty, which ruled the ancient kingdom of Kalinga (modern
day Odisha state) from 2nd century BCE to 5th century CE. The caves of Udayagiri and
Khandagiri were made for Jain ascetics.
The Udayagiri Caves are twenty rock-cut caves near Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh from the early years of the
5th century CE. They contain some of the oldest surviving Hindu temples and iconography in India. They are
the only site that can be verifiably associated with a Gupta period monarch from its inscriptions. One of India's
most important archaeological sites, the Udayagiri hills and its caves are protected monuments managed by
the Archaeological Survey of India.
• There are a number of places in India with the same name, the most
notable being the mountain called Udayagiri at Rajgir in Bihar and the
Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves in Odisha
Udayagiri caves contain iconography of Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaktism (Durga and Matrikas) and Shaivism
(Shiva).They are notable for the ancient monumental relief sculpture of Vishnu in his incarnation as the man-
boar Varaha, rescuing the earth symbolically represented by Bhudevi clinging to the boar's tusk as described
in Hindu mythology.[4] The site has important inscriptions of the Gupta dynasty belonging to the reigns of
Chandragupta II (c. 375-415) and Kumaragupta I (c. 415-55) .In addition to these, Udayagiri has a series of
rock-shelters and petroglyphs, ruined buildings, inscriptions, water systems, fortifications and habitation
mounds, all of which remain a subject of continuing archaeological studies. The Udayagiri Caves complex
consists of twenty caves, of which one is dedicated to Jainism and all others to Hinduism. The Jain cave is
notable for one of the oldest known Jaina inscriptions from 425 CE, while the Hindu Caves feature inscriptions
from 401 CE.
There are a number of places in India with the same name, the most notable being the mountain called
Udayagiri at Rajgir in Bihar and the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves in Odisha
Udayagiri, literally means the 'sunrise mountain'.[12] Udayagiri and Vidisha were a Buddhist and
Bhagavata site by the 2nd century BCE as evidenced by the Heliodorus pillar. While the Heliodorus pillar
has been preserved, others have survived in ruins. Buddhism was prominent in Sanchi, near Udayagiri,
in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE. According to Dass and Willis, recent archaeological
evidence such as the Udayagiri Lion Capital suggests that there was a Sun Temple at Udayagiri. The
Surya tradition in Udayagiri dates at least from the 2nd century BCE, and possibly one that predated the
arrival of Buddhism. It is this tradition that gives it the 'sunrise mountain' name.[3]
The town is referred to as Udaygiri or Udaigiri in some texts.[7] The site is also referred to as
Visnupadagiri, as in inscriptions at the site. The term means the hill at "the feet of Vishnu'.[13][14][note 3]
Early temples of tigawa
Tigawa is a small village which was once a large town with a fort
named Jhanjhangarh. The literal meaning of Tigowa, as it is referred
by Cunningham, is ‘three villages’, the other two are neighboring
villages, Amgowa and Deori. Tigawa was located on an ancient route
connecting Bharhut to Tripuri via Tigawa and Rupnath.
It may assumed that the religious activity witnessed a tremendous growth at Tigawa after
the construction of the first temple, which is the same one which is standing at present as
well. That earliest temple is dated to the Gupta period, hence all the other temples would
have been built after this one only. It may be also assumed that after the disintegration of
the Gupta empire, rulers of small kingdoms were forced to focus over a small region for all
their activities and Tigawa was one such center. It would be hard to say in which time all
these additional shrines were constructed however as the region was under influence of
the Kalchuris for a long period, these activities may be assigned to them.
Kankali Devi Temple – The original
temple was constituted of a sanctum and
an open portico supported on four pillars.
At a later stage, the portico was covered
with walls containing panels and an
addition extension in front of the portico.
The sanctum is 12.75 feet square outside
and about 8 feet square inside. It is
covered with a flat roof. Doorway of the
sanctum is done in T-shaped style with
over-hanging lintel beyond the door-
jambs. Foliage decoration is found on two
bands of this doorway. Two pilasters, one
on either side, are executed in the typical
Gupta order, topped with images of
Ganga and Yamuna where both are
shown plucking a fruit from a tree. There
are seven square bosses on a lintel above
Pillar abacus
Sanctum
door
A portico in front is supported on four pillars which are designed
in typical Gupta order. Square at base, followed by octagonal
and then sixteen sides shaft and then circular at last. This shaft
is topped with a purna-kalasha (vase-of-plenty) capital. Above
this capital is a square abacus with two lions on each face,
seated side by side and a tree in between. Lions on corners
share their heads similar to the arrangement seen in trAssyrian
sculptures. Though all the pillars are same, difference can be
noticed in the tree, which is placed in between the lions, on its
various faces. On some face it is a mango tree then on others it
is palm ee or some unidentifiable trees. There are two chaitya-
arch bosses on each face of the lower part of the capital. There
is head of a lion or a man inside the arches.
Sheshashai
V
early temples at sanchi
Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at
Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located in 46
kilometres (29 mi) north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh.
The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an
important monument of Indian Architecture.[1] It was originally commissioned by the
emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick
structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the chhatri, a parasol-
like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the
relics. The original construction work of this stupa was overseen by Ashoka, whose wife
Devi was the daughter of a merchant of nearby Vidisha. Sanchi was also her birthplace
as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding. In the 1st century BCE, four
elaborately carved toranas (ornamental gateways) and a balustrade encircling the entire
structure were added. The Sanchi Stupa built during Mauryan period was made of
bricks. The composite flourished until the 11th century.
Sanchi is the center of a region with a number of stupas, all within a few miles of
Sanchi, including Satdhara (9 km to the W of Sanchi, 40 stupas, the Relics of Sariputra
and Mahamoggallana, now enshrined in the new Vihara, were unearthed there),
Bhojpur (also called Morel Khurd, a fortified hilltop with 60 stupas) and Andher
(respectively 11 km and 17 km SE of Sanchi), as well as Sonari (10 km SW of Sanchi).
Further south, about 100 km away, is Saru Maru. Bharhut is 300 km to the northeast.
The "Great Stupa" at Sanchi is the oldest structure and was originally commissioned
by the emperor Ashoka the Great of the Maurya Empire in the 3rd century BCE. Its
nucleus was a hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha,with
a raised terrace encompassing its base, and a railing and stone umbrella on the
summit, the chatra, a parasol-like structure symbolizing high rank. The original
Stupa only had about half the diameter of today's stupa, which is the result of
enlargement by the Sungas. It was covered in brick, in contrast to the stones that
now cover it.
According to one version of the Mahavamsa, the Buddhist chronicle of Sri Lanka,
Ashoka was closely connected to the region of Sanchi. When he was heir-apparent
and was journeying as Viceroy to Ujjain, he is said to have halted at Vidisha (10
kilometers from Sanchi), and there married the daughter of a local banker. She was
called Devi and later gave Ashoka two sons, Ujjeniya and Mahendra, and a
daughter Sanghamitta. After Ashoka's accession, Mahendra headed a Buddhist
mission, sent probably under the auspices of the Emperor, to Sri Lanka, and that
before setting out to the island he visited his mother at Chetiyagiri near Vidisa,
thought to be Sanchi. He was lodged there in a sumptuous vihara or monastery,
which she herself is said to have had erected
A pillar of finely polished sandstone, one of the Pillars of Ashoka, was
also erected on the side of the main Torana gateway. The bottom part
of the pillar still stands. The upper parts of the pillar are at the nearby
Sanchi Archaeological Museum. The capital consists in four lions,
which probably supported a Wheel of Law,[11] as also suggested
by later illustrations among the Sanchi reliefs. The pillar has an
Ashokan inscription (Schism Edict)[12] and an inscription in the
ornamental Sankha Lipi from the Gupta period.[5] The Ashokan
inscription is engraved in early Brahmi characters. It is unfortunately
much damaged, but the commands it contains appear to be the same
as those recorded in the Sarnath and Kausambi edicts, which together
form the three known instances of Ashoka's "Schism Edict". It relates to
the penalties for schism in the Buddhist sangha:
the path is prescribed both for the monks and for the nuns. As long as
(my) sons and great-grandsons (shall reign ; and) as long as the Moon and
the Sun (shall endure), the monk or nun who shall cause divisions in the
Sangha, shall be compelled to put on white robes and to reside apart. For
what is my desire? That the Sangha may be united and may long endure
