EP - 4 Bhimbetka Rock Shelters & Caves, Bhojpur Temple History | Tourism village of MP - Sabarvani.
Just imagine! Centuries ago, people used to live here! In the middle of the forest! Yes! This must be the only place in the jungle where they might have felt safe! Yes, of course! Namaskar Friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host, Harish Bali. Right now... ...I have travelled for an hour from Bhopal... ...to visit the Bhojpur Temple. This temple that I am visiting today was built in the 11th century. I told you about Raja Bhoj when we were in Bhopal. In the 11th century, Raja Bhoj...
...got a Shiv Temple built. And... ...it is said that the Shivling that we see inside the temple... ...is the tallest in the country. It is said that once, Raja Bhoj suffered from leprosy. His chief physician advised him to take the combined water of 9 different rivers.
I mean water from the 'Sangam' (confluence) of 9 different rivers. Take that water to bathe the Shivling. Thereafter, he was advised to bathe himself with that water to cure his leprosy. At that time, he couldn't find such a 'Sangam' anywhere in the area. So, it took them some time to identify the 9 rivers. In addition to the 5-6 rivers in the region, paths of more rivers were diverted to this area.
After that, a dam was also built here. I am talking of the year 1010 A.D. That is how the 9 rivers were brought together. That water was brought here.
The construction of the temple began thereafter. The Shivling was established here, as we will see when we will visit inside. Raja Bhoj used the same water to bathe the Shivling. Afterwards, the Raja himself bathed with the water and his leprosy was cured.
This is the legend that prevails here. Come now, let us go inside. This sculpture that you see at the temple entrance... ...this part of it... ..is Bhagwan Shiv. The other half of this same sculpture is Bhagwan Vishnu.
At its feet, we see the Nandi. The right side of this sculpture, down here, is damaged. See, the huge Shivling that we saw on the screen...
...do you know its exact height? That part of the Shivling, which is visible to us right now, is 7.5 feet high. The part beneath, which is not visible to us... ...is 14 feet high. So, the total height of the Shivling is 21.5 feet! This is the tallest Shivling in our country and... ...I have already told you that this temple was built between 1010 and 1055 A.D. So, what we are discussing now is an ancient temple.
Look at the carving on the roof! All of it is done on sandstone. Now, let's take a look at these pillars. Each pillar has three more pillars behind it. The original plan of building a 3-storey temple here is the reason why so many pillars were built. But, during that period, a devastating attack took place on the Somnath Temple.
Therefore, the further construction was suspended at this temple. Thus, the next two stories were not built. You should pay attention to one more thing.
You can see 'Shri' word written here in Hindi language. This is believed to be left here by the artisans who made this temple as a sort of signature. Here! Here! Here! This is "L" or "La" written in Hindi language. There is a similar alphabet written on every stone. Not many people know about this place though! We can say that some awareness is there in the Central India but beyond that, there is no awareness. But those who don't know so far will come to know of this place through our video.
This video tells you of the history of this place and this temple, in particular. Too good! Very nice! Let's leave now. I have walked away from the temple. Now, we have to go and visit the Bhimbetka rock shelters. It will take us 30-40 minutes to reach there. The time is already 12.30 PM.
Tourists usually keep Bhopal as their base, before visiting here. After a daylong trip to Bhimbetka, they return to Bhopal in the evening. For tourists like us, who want to visit Pachmarhi... ...they take this route, visit the temple,... ...and then reach Pachmarhi. It depends on individual tour plans. We are now leaving here. I felt really good visiting this place! We have reached to visit the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters! We have with us Ravi ji.
You live in Sanchi. It is a good thing that we could get in touch with you yesterday and you could take out time for us today. So, we are entering into Bhimbetka caves.
This is the first part of Bhimbetka. We call this the 'Welcome Gate' of Bhimbetka. The natural formation of this cave...
...looks similar to that of a "Sabha-Griha" or an auditorium. Sh. Wakankar (Indian archaeologist who discovered Bhimbetka in 1957) has named it thus. Since prehistoric times, man has used these cave shelters to keep safe from elements of weather. This is a natural rock formation. These balancing structures are not man-made either. You will find many such paintings here. These paintings were made during times from prehistoric period to ancient times.
These paintings are built according to three types of artistic thoughts. Gond Art is a popular traditional art form of Madhya Pradesh. It is comparable to the Madhubani art of Bihar and Warli Art of Maharashtra. Here, you can see the focus is on the left hand, Since thumb is on the right, it seems that someone has drawn his left hand with his right hand. Above it, you can see deer figures. There is a bull figure.
And a peacock figure. This, on the right, is a tiger figure. Where? Here! Yes! We just entered Bhimbetka through the "Welcome Gate". After this, we will go to Zoo Rock shelter.
In the Zoo Rock Shelter, you will find 550 rock paintings of different eras. These caves... ...look like the open mouth of a lion. The local tribals believe that this is also the spot where, once upon a time, Bhim used to live. This place is, thus, also known as "Bhimbaithaka" o "the seat of Bhima.
The rock shelters are also given numbers and we have reached the Rock Shelter No. 4. There are a number of animal figures painted over the lower edge of this huge boulder. Yes! Watching these figures reminded me of my trip to Boondi in Rajasthan. Yes! Have you visited Boondi? I have heard about it but never been there.
It is near Kota. When I visited Boondi... ...someone took me to visit rock shelters like these. Yes! That was when I saw animal figures like these. Yes! But here, I can see many more figures in comparison to those shelters. Yes! How many are there? Total 453, it is said. Just in this portion! Yes, in this small portion, made over a long period of time! Alright! Generation to generation! So, look at the top.
The figure of a long tusk elephant, like a mammoth. It belongs to the Upper Paleolithic period. 28,000 B.C.
The figure shows a hunter, armed with stone tools, riding an elephant on a hunting expedition. Parallel to it is the "Spotted Deer", the part of deer Cheetal! Leopard! Elephant! Buffalo! Deer! Reindeer! The next painting is from the Mesolithic Period. Early people using pet animals.
Here, you can see them starting their farming. On the right is a hunter going on a hunt with his tools. Below this are the pictures of horses, in red colour. I think the main purpose of making these paintings must be...
...to show their children which animals are friendly. In a way, they must be aiming to teach through these paintings. Right, right. These paintings were a teaching medium because humans had no other means of communication. So, we will also see cave paintings in the shelters that we are now going to visit. In the paintings that we saw till now, the focus was on red and white colours. In the coming shelters, we will see paintings in green and yellow colours too.
White and red, means? White colour uses limestone and red comes from the animal blood. Green and yellow colours come from flowers and leaves. You mean the horse paintings that we saw a while ago... ...were made with animal blood? Animal blood and soft gridstone, hematoid, ochre! Just imagine! Centuries ago, people used to live here! In the middle of the forest! Yes! This must be the only place in the jungle where they might have felt safe! Yes, of course! The formation of Shelter number 15 looks like a snakehood.
This formation is like the hood of Sheshnaag. Really, we are quite close to this shelter right now. But it looks like a snakehood, if we see it from a distance. Absolutely! Beautiful! Inside, you will find paintings of very huge-sized animal figures. This red-coloured painting? This is the largest painting in the world.
In 3 countries. In France, Spain and India. Yeah! This is the figure of the biggest animal, which was 1x1 meter in dimension. Dating back to 6900 B.C. That means 8,900 years ago.
Beautiful horns, big-sized body, backside tail! The upper part of its body is similar to that of a bison. But its snout and feet are similar to those of a pig. You know the wild pig doesn't have such horns, nor does a bison have such feet. So, it is a two-in-one animal! It has been named "Barah." This painting shows the wild boar attacked early people, who seem helpless in front of it. Yeah, we can see the attack taking place.
Beautiful! In the Shelter No. 14.... ...you will find pictures dating back to 2800 B.C., or 4800 years old! This picture is of an elephant but, since it is made in Gond Art, its body structure looks like that of a rhino. Because of the use of rectangle, triangle, circle shapes in Gond Art... ...this figure of an elephant is looking like a rhino but actually, rhinos never existed in this part of the country. Rhinos are found only in the North-East, Assam to be particular.
The pictures in Shelter No. 11 are related to fighting. Basically, the lives of early people were dependent on nature and hunting. But after civilization grew, the population increased and people got divided into smaller groups. Thus, they began to fight among themselves. These pictures are from the 7th century A.D., or 1300 years old. In white colour, we see a soldier surrendering with both his hands in air.
There is another soldier astride an elephant and attacking with a spear. Two soldiers are fighting each other. Rest of the pictures below are related to fighting as well.
On the left, you will find figures that are superimpositions. The base pictures were in white colour and the succeeding generations have decorated those in red colour. Sir, the texture of the paintings in Shelter No. 7... ...looks like Warli Art. Thane, Palghar, Maharashtra. These pictures show hunters riding horses with different types of weapons in hand. This group hunting method was used to hunt dangerous animals like lion and tiger.
This pattern is mostly used in Warli paintings. The Bhimbetka Shelter paintings can be easily compared to the Warli Art. Gond Art has stick figures. And Madhubani Art has complete figures.
Why would the tribals in this area indulge in Madhubani Art? The forefathers of Madhubani artists were the tribals in this region. Like the Warli Art of Maharashtra didn't originate in Maharashtra as is today. At one point of time in history, this whole region was one big piece of land called Gondwana. This land had tribal communities of Gond, Korku, Saheria, Baiga, etc.
At present, Madhya Pradesh mainly has members of the Gond tribe. But Maharashtra has more of Korku tribe members. But the Korku tribe also originated in these jungles. Sir, the paintings of Shelter No. 6... ...look like entertainment figures. Like this depiction of a group dance.
In the upper part, you'll see a tribal man playing a wooden instrument that looks like a "Mridang." He is a musician. In the centre, a group of men is performing a dance that looks similar to the 'Bihu' dance of Assam.
The Gond Adivasis used to dance like this. Now, look at the upper part of the painting. One female and one male are depicted as doing a couple dance. How old are these paintings? These paintings date back to 7th century B.C., 2700 years back. Our visit to the Bhimbetka Rock Shelters is complete.
When we started this visit, we took entry from here. We came back from this path while returning. But we've come back to the starting point. This is the point to click the best photograph of this visit. You can stand either here or four feet back....
...and capture this whole rock and this place in the background. In the past two hours, I've seen that... ...this is the best photography point of the overall Rock Shelters. That's what I feel. Ravi ji, thank you so much! We enjoyed this trip in your company. You are happy? Good! Now we are going to Pachmarhi. Pachmarhi is about 160 KM from here. The time is already 5.30 PM.
If we drive non-stop, we will be able to reach by 8.30 PM. But we have to visit a homestay first, for which we have to take a diversion of 10 KM. Our plan is to have dinner there and then go to Pachmarhi. Right! Okay Ravi Ji, we will leave now. Thanks! Before I leave, I must tell you if you plan a visit to this place...
...you must pre-book a guide for a guided tour. That would be better. Because most of the guides here work on pre-booking basis. This place isn't like the Taj Mahal, where you can book a random guide.
Am I right? Right Sir! Pre-booking is better. Right! Okay then! Bye-bye to you now. See you after 3 hours. On the way to Pachmarhi, we took a diversion on Chhindwara Road. And we've reached a homestay.
We have with us Kamlesh Bhai and Manoj Bhai. The village where we are right now is called Sabarvani. I had no knowledge of this village before. But when I learned of it yesterday, I contacted them. So, they asked me to reach here for lunch.
First they asked us to come for lunch and then again informed us that lunch would not be possible. Eventually, dinner was decided and finally we reached you at 9.45 PM. Yes! It is 10.00 PM now. As soon as we reached here, he took me to show some homestays because of the stormy weather. That is when I learned that this is not the only homestay, there are many more. How many homestays has M.P. Tourism constructed here?
Out of the 10 homestays planned for this village, five are ready. Three more homestays would get ready in a week's time. So, there will be total eight homestays here? Yes Sir! Alright! Well, a week isn't a long time. Yes Sir! So, they have developed these homestays and if I were to tell you in brief... ....from what I saw for about 15 minutes... ...I felt like cancelling my booking at Pachmarhi and spend the night here. Kamlesh Bhai, first of all, thank you! You have prepared so much for us.
So far, I have seen this. This is a dish made with Aloo (potatoes) and Fali (beans). This is Toor Dal.
You told me this dish is made with Chana and Fang. These are Fang leaves. Fang is a type of creeper Sir. Fang is a creeper.
Alright! Yes! We cook its leaves with chana and call it "Fang ki Bhaji." Fang ki Bhaji! Yes! It must be nutritious! Yes, it is very nutritious. This is chapati made with whole wheat flour. This is roti made with Birra (black gram). I ate Birra roti in Chanderi. They told me this is chana cooked with some whole wheat flour.
Is it the same? Yes! Yes Sir! He told me one more interesting thing. Do you see this leafy vegetable? This is the Bhaji! This Bhaji is made with the leaves of the Black Chana plant. These leaves are dried and then used, as they have shown us here. They have also served Mango Chutney and pickles with food.
What is this? Sir, we call it "Thola' in local language and it is made of Besan, onions, ginger, etc. It is steam-cooked inside Palasa leaves. So, I will start with Thola. Sure! I like the serving style of this dish.
What is this outer covering? What is it? It is Besan Sir. Besan and onions! Is it Besan inside as well? It is made with Besan overall Sir. Should I eat like this? Yes, absolutely. It is eaten like this. The overall taste is good! As I am eating it, I can realize that it has been steamed. When you steam it, does that also release the flavour of leaves into the dish? Yes Sir.
Isn't it? The fragrance of these leaves must be released into the food. Yes! Nice! Moreover, it is a heavy (rich) item to eat. I think one Thola would be sufficient for two persons. It is not like that Sir. We villagers can eat four of these at a time. Four at a time! Can't say the same for city people. It isn't heavy Sir! It seems so.
It is easily digestible because it is steamed and it has zero oil or spices. You don't need oil in it. Absolutely not! You are right! I ended up finishing half of it while talking to you. I didn't even realize it. It has a subtle flavour from the onions and the spices inside.
Absolutely! And, of course, there is the flavour of Besan. Would it be okay to eat the Fang ki sabzi with Birra Roti? Yes, it is right. This Birra roti that you cook is a little thicker in size. It is so because we cook it over woodfire. If cooked on a gas stove, a thinner roti would get cooked but... ...the same roti would burn if cooked over woodfire. It is amazing! I can say this for sure that....
...this is the exact food that you expect to eat while in a village. It is very difficult for me to explain the taste of these Fang leaves! This is the first time for me. But I can say for sure that this Chana Dal.... ....is delicious to eat. This is a new taste for me. This is an amazing dish! You showed me this Black Chana.
Yes! The Bhaji is made from the leaves of this plant? Yes Sir! So, you dry these leaves and store it for later use? Yes Sir! We store the leaves after drying them because guests often ask for this Bhaji dish. What has been added to this Bhaji because it tastes delicious to me? Garlic etc? Yes, it has garlic, ginger, and some chilies. That's it. There is no oil in it. I don't see oil in this food.
Absolutely not Sir. Good! Exactly... ...the kind of food you would expect to eat in a village. For instance, in your homestay... ...if two people come to stay... ...for a night or more, what would be the charge? Charges would be Rs 3000, which would include breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Alright, that includes three meals a day. For two persons. For two! Yes Sir! Nice! For anything other than this, charges would be extra. Okay! Yes! Pachmarhi would be approximately 40 KM from here? 38 KM Sir! 38! 38! 10 KM up to the main road and then 28 KM more. Absolutely Sir! What is the name of that crossing from where we took the diversion? It is called Matkuli Sir.
Matkuli! So, Matkuli is kid of a landmark from where we have to take the turn. Absolutely right Sir! Good! Now, I will say bye-bye to you here. We will finish today's episode here. It is late in the night now. I don't like that you will be going to bed so late, despite waking up early in the morning.
No, it is alright Sir. Ever since the tourism has begun, sleep timings have gone for a toss! Still, there is a personal nature, a habit. Okay, nice! For now, I will say bye-bye to you here. For now, it is bye-bye to you. We will meet again soon. Thanks for your time!
2024-07-14 20:30
