Neil Island, Andaman

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Udaigiri Caves, Vidisha

  • One can book a vehicle for less than $10 for half day to cover both Udaigiri and Heliodorus Pillar from Vidisha station. The pillar is worth 20 minutes stay.
  • November to February is the best time to visit Udaigiri Caves. Both the climate of this region and the small uphill climb traversing this hill demands cool temperature.
  • At the top of the hill, there is a cave dedicated to Lord Ganesha. People mostly come back from here. There is a path from here that takes you to the other side which has few more caves.
We were in Vidisha for Prateek's wedding. The journey itself was interesting. It was not since the dreadful night train to Rameswaram that we had taken a train trip. However the group that accompanied us was fun. We reached Vidisha early morning and got transferred to our respective rooms. Management from bride's side was impeccable. Breakfast was equally good with the variety and a hint of Madhya Pradesh. We ate sumptuously and then rested for a while at room before starting again.

Varaha statue, Udaigiri

Our plan was to cover the two important places in Vidisha and as we noticed mentioned in big letters at the railway station, these seem to be the only two places of importance here. We started with the more promising one named Udaigiri Caves. A tuk-tuk took us to the main gate of caves in about half hour and allowed us an hour to tread around. Udaigiri Caves strikes you in the first glance itself. At the front you can see the giant Varaha statue holds Mother Earth at his tip as a depiction of one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu. The shades of red, the intricacy of art and the sheer size is so engrossing, we spend a good time just taking pictures from different angles.

Caves at ground level, Udaigiri

Udaigiri Caves is built on different levels. While the bottom level has temples and deities in caves, the middle level hosts a larger than life statue of Lord Vishnu lying on Shesha snake. The upper level has a Lord Ganesha statue in a cave and a plateau from where all the three levels are visible. We trekked all the way to the top and came back. The driver told us there is another gate at the other end that we should visit.

Lord Vishnu, Middle level Caves, Udaigiri

We later learned that the two gates were linked through a narrow path right on the top of the hill starting at the third level  that we had visited. We didn't want to hike again and hence decided to check the other gate the lower levels only. We left for the Heliodorus Pillar in no time. Although the setup is hardly significant, the pillar is of high archeological value only becuase of the fact that it survived 2200 years without almost a scratch probably because it was erected in the hinterlands.

Heliodorus Pillar

We came back at noon and were immediately pulled into one of the ceremonies. Lunch was served to our tables and again we retired to our respective rooms. The night journey and morning excursions had a tiring effect and we slept for good couple hours before

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