Vidisha
At the 10km northeast of Sanchi in the fork of Betwa and
Bes rivers, Vidisha was once a majot commercial center in the 5th and 6th
centuries BC. During the reign if Ashoka, the place was more known as
Besnagar and finally passed many hands includes the Mughals to the Scindias.
The ruins of a 2nd century BC Brahmanical shrine here show traces of lime
mortar, possibly the earliest use of cement in India. There is also a sun
worshipping temple, Bija Mandal. The other attractions are Bijamandal Mosque
and Gumbaz -ka Makbara, dating back to Muslim period. There are still
remains of votive pillars scattered the place. The district museum here
preserve 2nd century BC stone status of Kuber Yaksha, treasurer of Gods.
Other statues are 11th century serpent couple, a 13th century hanuman and
Kamdev, the sex god. Frequent buses and auto rickshaws ply to Vidisha from
Sanchi, takes around 20 minutes.
Udaygiri Caves
About 5km north west of Vidisha, this famous caves
are cut into a sandstone hill dating from Gupta period. There are 20 Gupta
cave shrine dating from Chandragupta II (382-401). Most of the caves are
Hindus except caves 1 and 20. Cave 4 is the most interesting one with a
Shivlangam, which bears Shiva's face complete with a third eye. Cave 5
preserve a fascinating image of Vishnu in his boar incarnation topped with a
frieze of gods. Lotus ceilinged cave 7 was cut out for the personal use of
Chandragupta II. On the top of the hill are ruins f a 6th century Gupta
temple dedicated to the sun god. Udaygiri is accessible from Sanchi and
Vidisha. There are auto rickshaws run from Sanchi and Vidisha.
Heliodorus Pillar
From Vidisha instead of turning left for
Udaygiri Caves, constinue straight about 3km leads you to Heliodorus Pillar,
also known as Khamb Baba. The pillar was erected in about 140BC and
dedicated to Vasudeva. Based on an inscription, it was made by a Greek
ambassador, Heliodorus, who came here from Taxila. It is revered by local
fishermen. On the full moon nights a person is chained to the pillar,
becomes possessed and is able to drive evil spirits from other locals. When
someone has been exorcised, they drive a nail into the tamarind tree nearby,
fixing to it a lime, a piece of coconut, a red thread, and supposedly the
spirit. The large tamarind tree is bristling with old nails.
Udaypur
The age old massive Neelkantheswara temple is the center
attraction of Udaypur. The place is situated about 60km from Udaygiri. The
temple is an excellent example of 11th century Paramara architecture. The
beautiful designed shikhar(spire) and delicate carvings adorned the temple
walls. The spire is built of red sandstone and placed on a high platform.
The temple consists of garbha-griha(shrine room), a sabha mandap(hall) and
three parvesh mandaps(entrance porches).
Gyaraspur
The place is located 40km north east of Sanchi. The
place has an important medieval historical importance, now lies in ruins.
The temples of Athkhamba(eight pillars) and Chaukhamba(pillars) are the
tourist attractions, built in the 9th and 10th centuries. Mahdev temple of
10th century perched on the hill above the village, is amazing remains with
the ruins of stupa.