Vidisha
Encyclopedia
Vidisha is a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh
, India
, located near the state capital Bhopal. Vidishā is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District
. The city was also known as Bhilsa during the medieval period.
, Vidisha had a population of 125,457. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Vidisha has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 62%. In Vidisha, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
.
Khamba Baba. The ruins of an early shrine at Vidisha dedicated to Vishnu
reveal that the foundation bricks were cemented together with lime
mortar
, the first known example of the use of cement in India. The ruins are of period prior to 2nd century BC.
Close to the ruins are the remains of votive pillars with palm-leaf capitals; the only one that still stands is the Heliodorus pillar
, also known as Khamba Baba. A monolithic
free-standing column, the pillar bears an inscription which states that it was Garuda
Pillar, raised in honour of Vasudeva
by Heliodorous, a resident of Taxila
, who had been sent to the court of Bhagabhadra
as an envoy of Indo-Greek monarch, Antialkidas
. This inscription is a valuable historical record, revealing both the relations that existed between the region and the Greek
kingdoms of the Punjab
, and the fact that the Greek ambassador had become a follower of Hindu
god Vishnu
. The inclusion of the name of Antialkidas
dates the erection of the pillar to approximately 140 BC
Bijamaṇḍal. Near the eastern edge of the old town are the remains of a large temple of the late Paramara
period known as the Bijamaṇḍal. The building was probably started in the second half of the 11th century. That it was never finished is shown by uncarved niches and unfinished architectural pieces found round the base of the temple plinth. On top of the plinth is a small mosque made using pillars that date, primarily, to the 8th and 9th centuries; one pillar has an inscription of king Naravarman (circa 1094-1134). It is a devotional inscription recording his reverence to Carccikā (i.e. Cāmuṇḍā) The miḥrāb suggests the mosque was constructed in the late 14th century. To one side of the Bijamaṇḍal is a store house of the Archaeological Survey of India
containing many sculptures collected in the neighborhood. A step-well of the 7th century is in the same campus and has, beside the entrance, two tall pillars with Kṛṣṇa scenes. These are the earliest Kṛṣṇa scenes in the art of central India.
Lohaṅgī Pīr. One of the most striking features of Vidiśā is the prominent rock known as Lohaṅgī Pīr. With sheer cliffs on all sides, it towers over the town. The rock takes it name from Shāykh Jalāl Chishti, a saint locally known as Lohaṅgī Pīr. His tomb is a small domed building with ruined structures round about. Two Persian inscriptions have been found here, one dated AH 864 (CE 1460) from the time of Maḥmūd I of the Malwa Sultanate
and the other of Akbar dated AH 987 (CE 1583). Also on the hill is a tank and a large bell-capital of about the 1st century BCE. Less striking are the remains of a medieval temple which survives as a pillared crypt. It is now dedicated to the goddess Annapūrṇā.
The town is situated east of the Betwa River
, in the fork of the Betwa and Bes rivers, 10 km from Sanchi
. The town of Besnagar, 3 km from present-day Vidisha on the west side of the river, became an important trade center in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, under the Sunga
s, Naga
s, Satavahana
s, and Gupta
s, and was mentioned in the Pali
scriptures. The Emperor Ashoka
was the governor of Vidisha and it finds mention in Kalidasa
's immortal Meghdoot. Besnagar was abandoned in the 6th century, it came into prominence again as Bhelsa during the medieval period. It thus, passed on to the Malwa Sultans, the Mughals
and the Scindias.
Vidisha or Besnagar as it is called in the Pali scriptures, once the prosperous capital of the western dominions of the Sungas, contains some remarkable antiquities that throw light on the considerable architectural development of the period.
The physical features of the district can be divided into the five following divisions :
1. The Valley of the Betwa
2. The Bina valley
3. The Eastern Range
4. The Western Range
5. The Sindh Valley
The places of tourist and archaelogical interest include Vidisha, Gyaraspur
, Udaypur, Badoh-Pathari and Sironj
.
Regular bus services connect Vidisha, Udaypur, Gyraspur, Sanchi with Bhopal. Tongas and tempos for Udayagiri and Khambha Baba are also available from Vidisha.
Gyaraspur has wonderful monuments like Maladevi and Hathkhambha.this place is more or less having temples like khajuraho but underexplored,gyaraspur can be visited by one day trip from vidisha
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, located near the state capital Bhopal. Vidishā is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District
Vidisha District
Vidisha District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Vidisha is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:...
. The city was also known as Bhilsa during the medieval period.
Geography
Vidisha is located at 23.53°N 77.82°E. It has an average elevation of 424 metres (1391 feet).Demographics
India censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, Vidisha had a population of 125,457. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Vidisha has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 62%. In Vidisha, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Historic Places and Monuments
Vidisha is exceptionally rich in ancient monuments and historic places. A short distance to the north of the present town are the remains of the ancient town, known as Besnagar. Not far from Besnagar are the Udayagiri Caves with sculptures and inscriptions dating to the time of the Gupta EmpireGupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
.
Khamba Baba. The ruins of an early shrine at Vidisha dedicated to Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
reveal that the foundation bricks were cemented together with lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
mortar
Mortar (masonry)
Mortar is a workable paste used to bind construction blocks together and fill the gaps between them. The blocks may be stone, brick, cinder blocks, etc. Mortar becomes hard when it sets, resulting in a rigid aggregate structure. Modern mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder...
, the first known example of the use of cement in India. The ruins are of period prior to 2nd century BC.
Close to the ruins are the remains of votive pillars with palm-leaf capitals; the only one that still stands is the Heliodorus pillar
Heliodorus pillar
The Heliodorus pillar is a stone column that was erected around 110 BCE in central India in Vidisha near modern Besnagar, by Heliodorus, a Greek ambassador of the Indo-Greek king Antialcidas to the court of the Sunga king Bhagabhadra...
, also known as Khamba Baba. A monolithic
Monolithic column
A monolithic column is a column of which the shaft is made from one single piece of stone instead of different sections.They are sometimes called 'single-piece columns' and were most likely used on ancient temples....
free-standing column, the pillar bears an inscription which states that it was Garuda
Garuda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
Pillar, raised in honour of Vasudeva
Vasudeva
In Hindu itihasa , Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of Shoorsen, of the Yadu and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu. He was a partial incarnation of Rishi Kashyap....
by Heliodorous, a resident of Taxila
Taxila
Taxila is a Tehsil in the Rawalpindi District of Punjab province of Pakistan. It is an important archaeological site.Taxila is situated about northwest of Islamabad Capital Territory and Rawalpindi in Panjab; just off the Grand Trunk Road...
, who had been sent to the court of Bhagabhadra
Bhagabhadra
Bhagabhadra was one of the kings of the Indian Sunga dynasty. He ruled in north, central, and eastern India around 110 BCE. Although the capital of the Sungas was at Pataliputra, he was also known to have held court at Vidisha....
as an envoy of Indo-Greek monarch, Antialkidas
Antialcidas
Antialcidas Nikephoros "the Victorious" was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid Dynasty, who reigned from his capital at Taxila. Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled from ca 115 to 95 BCE in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realms, whereas RC Senior places him around 130 to 120 BCE and...
. This inscription is a valuable historical record, revealing both the relations that existed between the region and the Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
kingdoms of the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, and the fact that the Greek ambassador had become a follower of Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
god Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
. The inclusion of the name of Antialkidas
Antialcidas
Antialcidas Nikephoros "the Victorious" was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid Dynasty, who reigned from his capital at Taxila. Bopearachchi has suggested that he ruled from ca 115 to 95 BCE in the western parts of the Indo-Greek realms, whereas RC Senior places him around 130 to 120 BCE and...
dates the erection of the pillar to approximately 140 BC
140 BC
Year 140 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sapiens and Caepio...
Bijamaṇḍal. Near the eastern edge of the old town are the remains of a large temple of the late Paramara
Paramara
Paramara is a Maratha, Gurjar,& Rajput clan of India.The Paramara clan belongs to the Agnivansha of Rajputs ancient Kshatriyas...
period known as the Bijamaṇḍal. The building was probably started in the second half of the 11th century. That it was never finished is shown by uncarved niches and unfinished architectural pieces found round the base of the temple plinth. On top of the plinth is a small mosque made using pillars that date, primarily, to the 8th and 9th centuries; one pillar has an inscription of king Naravarman (circa 1094-1134). It is a devotional inscription recording his reverence to Carccikā (i.e. Cāmuṇḍā) The miḥrāb suggests the mosque was constructed in the late 14th century. To one side of the Bijamaṇḍal is a store house of the Archaeological Survey of India
Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India is a department of the Government of India, attached to the Ministry of Culture . The ASI is responsible for archaeological studies and the preservation of archaeological heritage of the country in accordance with the various acts of the Indian Parliament...
containing many sculptures collected in the neighborhood. A step-well of the 7th century is in the same campus and has, beside the entrance, two tall pillars with Kṛṣṇa scenes. These are the earliest Kṛṣṇa scenes in the art of central India.
Lohaṅgī Pīr. One of the most striking features of Vidiśā is the prominent rock known as Lohaṅgī Pīr. With sheer cliffs on all sides, it towers over the town. The rock takes it name from Shāykh Jalāl Chishti, a saint locally known as Lohaṅgī Pīr. His tomb is a small domed building with ruined structures round about. Two Persian inscriptions have been found here, one dated AH 864 (CE 1460) from the time of Maḥmūd I of the Malwa Sultanate
Malwa Sultanate
The Malwa Sultanate was a late medieval independent kingdom in the Malwa region of the present day Madhya Pradesh state in India in 1392–1562.-History:For earlier history, see article Malwa....
and the other of Akbar dated AH 987 (CE 1583). Also on the hill is a tank and a large bell-capital of about the 1st century BCE. Less striking are the remains of a medieval temple which survives as a pillared crypt. It is now dedicated to the goddess Annapūrṇā.
History
Betwa River
The Betwa is a river in Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. Also known as the Vetravati, the Betwa rises in the Vindhya Range just north of Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh and flows north-east through Madhya Pradesh and flow through Orchha to Uttar Pradesh. Nearly one-half of its course,...
, in the fork of the Betwa and Bes rivers, 10 km from Sanchi
Sanchi
Sanchi is a small village in Raisen District of the state of Madhya Pradesh, India, it is located 46 km north east of Bhopal, and 10 km from Besnagar and Vidisha in the central part of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the location of several Buddhist monuments dating from the 3rd...
. The town of Besnagar, 3 km from present-day Vidisha on the west side of the river, became an important trade center in the 6th and 5th centuries BCE, under the Sunga
Sunga Empire
The Sunga Empire or Shunga Empire was a royal Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled vast areas of the Indian Subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pusyamitra Sunga, after the fall of the Maurya Empire...
s, Naga
Naga people
The term Naga people refers to a conglomeration of several tribes inhabiting the North Eastern part of India and north-western Burma. The tribes have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority ethnic group in the Indian state of Nagaland...
s, Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
s, and Gupta
Gupta Empire
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the...
s, and was mentioned in the Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
scriptures. The Emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
was the governor of Vidisha and it finds mention in Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
's immortal Meghdoot. Besnagar was abandoned in the 6th century, it came into prominence again as Bhelsa during the medieval period. It thus, passed on to the Malwa Sultans, the Mughals
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
and the Scindias.
Vidisha or Besnagar as it is called in the Pali scriptures, once the prosperous capital of the western dominions of the Sungas, contains some remarkable antiquities that throw light on the considerable architectural development of the period.
Topography
The District Vidisha lies on the Vindhyachal Plateau off the main Vindhyachal Range, which throws several spurs towards North and North-East. The Plateau slopes towards the North and it is drained by a number of rivers. These rivers have formed their valleys between the spur fanges. Most of the Vidisha lies in the Valley of Betwa River which flows from South to North. This valley is bordered by the Garhi-Teonda Range in the East and Ganiari-Raghogarh Range in the West. Both these ranges form part of the ranges of Vindhyachal on the Malwa plateau and extend from South to North.The physical features of the district can be divided into the five following divisions :
1. The Valley of the Betwa
2. The Bina valley
3. The Eastern Range
4. The Western Range
5. The Sindh Valley
Tourism
The District Head Quarters town as it stands today is different from the old town of Vidisha or Besnagar. Till 1956, its name was Bhilsa. After that it was renamed as Vidisha for its close proximity to that glorious city of great antiquity.The places of tourist and archaelogical interest include Vidisha, Gyaraspur
Gyaraspur
Gyaraspur is a panchayat village in the Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is also the headquarters of a tehsil of the same name.- History :...
, Udaypur, Badoh-Pathari and Sironj
Sironj
Sironj is a city and a municipality in Vidisha district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.-Geography:Sironj is about 120 km north of Bhopal, the capital of Central Indian State of Madhya Pradesh. Although it lies in the Vidisha district and is about 85 km from Vidisha town, which is the...
.
To Reach Vidisha
Vidisha is a railway Station on the Delhi-Madras, Delhi-Bombay main line of the Central Railway, at a distance of 56 km from Bhopal, the State capital of the Madhya Pradesh State. Sanchi on the Jhansi-Itarsi section of the Central Railway, and Vidisha, 10 km from Sanchi, are more convenient.Regular bus services connect Vidisha, Udaypur, Gyraspur, Sanchi with Bhopal. Tongas and tempos for Udayagiri and Khambha Baba are also available from Vidisha.
Gyaraspur has wonderful monuments like Maladevi and Hathkhambha.this place is more or less having temples like khajuraho but underexplored,gyaraspur can be visited by one day trip from vidisha