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.
