BHIMBETKA CAVE PAINTINGS PDF

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Madhya Pradesh is a rather underrated state when it comes to tourism. This travelogue begins in Bhopal , the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. However, Bhopal is close to one extraordinary natural history spot, which has been declared a World Heritage Site for its sheer brilliance. Only forty odd kilometres to the south of Bhopal, this place, is called Bhimbetka ; and it is home to some of the oldest cave paintings known to man.

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As you travel towards Hoshangabad from Bhopal, on your right you would be able to see rock formations on small hills. Which at first sight would look intriguing? As you reach the road leading to the caves, you may have to wait at the railway crossing. Which is mostly closed and is opened only when there are enough vehicles to cross and there are no trains in sight. But this is a point where you can refresh and recharge yourself at the MP tourism hotel, just before the railway crossing.

You may not get anything including water after this point. For photographers , this is a good point for taking a long-distance shot of the rock shelters. Bhimbetka caves are one of the oldest known human habitations, dating back to some 10, years ago. The rocks here are estimated from the time when the area was probably ocean. And the curved formation of rocks is said to be formed by the hitting of sea waves. There are more than rock shelters that have been found in the jungles.

More than caves with paintings, in and around this place, but only about 20 caves are open to the public. These caves have paintings dating back from various periods during which they would have been inhabited.

Paintings are primarily in red and white colors. There are few in green and yellow. Red ones are the best preserved, probably because of the rich color. White ones seem faded and are probably the oldest ones. At a lot of places, paintings have been done one upon the other, indicating that the artists have used the same space to paint and re-paint.

The style of paintings resembles the Worli paintings and at times the Madhubani. There is the predominance of geometrical drawings to depict figures. Only at one place could I find a non-geometrical human figure that looked like either Shiva or a meditating sage. Some of the paintings look so fresh that it is difficult to believe that they are older than a few days.

You have an urge to touch them and see if they have been recently painted. Some of them even seem to defy the dust that is all around. Animals form the primary subject of paintings, followed by humans and occasional trees and flowers.

Zoo rock, one of the most famous rocks here, depicts all kinds of animals, primarily in white color and some in red. It can be a good exercise to stand below this rock and identify animals.

There are scenes depicting wars with the kings and the soldiers on horses. You can make out the king from his decorated horse and at times with an umbrella on top of his head. You can see the swords and other weapons used in warfare then. There are scenes depicting community living.

Groups of people dancing, drinking, playing musical instruments, performing rituals and enjoying life. There are couples depicted. Most of the paintings are on the ceilings of the cave.

The guide told us that this place was chosen by the painters as the water could not reach there. And hence the paintings would survive. But my feeling is that there must have been paintings all around. But the only ones to survive are those where the water could not reach.

If you observe carefully, you would see that the paintings on the outer edges are lighter than the ones away from the edges. Apart from rock shelters, there is an enclosure like formation, which the guide would tell you, is a potential auditorium. And this is the place where the community gatherings were probably held. The throne-like rock in the middle probably belonged to the headman or the king.

I would say in the absence of any references, all this is subject to our interpretation. About meters from the entrance of the caves, there is a cave temple, which is still a practicing temple. We were told that this temple was set by the Pandavas during their Agyaat Vaas or exile. In fact, the name Bhimbetka also refers to Bheem and literally means the place where Bheem used to sit.

For a change, these caves are a discovery that has been made by an Indian. Unlike most old structures which were discovered by the wandering British officers. They were discovered as recently as by V. Who did the detailed survey of the region on behalf of the Vikram University, Ujjain?

He classified the various types of rocks and rock shelters. Later the excavations were carried out by ASI and others. Before the discovery of these prehistoric caves, this area was thought of as Buddhist hills, sprinkled with various stupas. These caves indicate the continued existence of human life in this region over the ages, from prehistoric time to right up to the medieval period.

The place left me wanting to see and explore more. All reviews of the place and all the previous visitors told us that you can not spend more than 2 hours. Most tourists just spend about 30 minutes in the place. But I think I could have spent some more time and if I was allowed, I would have wanted to go and see more rock shelters. There is only one guide, who does a pretty shoddy job. And wraps up the whole tour in minutes.

You can do much better by picking up the ASI guide and using it as your tour guide. With the guide in hand, you can find the paintings on the numbered rocks.

And also read the complete description of the same. The caves would leave you wondering if the painters would have ever thought that their pass time would become a peep into their lives and times for the generations to follow.

You would also wonder do we really need anything beyond a roof over our heads and some food to eat, to lead a happy life. An epitome of Indian Art — Temples of Khajuraho. Bhojpur Shiva Temple — Bhojeshwar Temple. One of my favourite spots in MP, brings back fond memories. Yes, the only guide there does not do real justice to the place. Wish the place was more accessible with direct buses from Bhopal besides the ones which are operated on only Saturdays and Sundays as a part of a package tour to three different places including Sanchi and Bhojpur.

Good to see your write up here. Thank you Anuradha — you helped me relive the wonderful experience of visiting the Bhimbetka caves the year before last. I think it is wiser to keep the caves less frequented. Thanks again for your wonderful account of the caves.

Quit interesting read… Bhimbetka Shelters are really a subject of study for all of us… quit fascinating…. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Sign in. Log into your account. Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Forgot your password? Get help. Where To Stay In Shekhawati? Consider Piramal Haveli. Nice pictures. If you give the rights to Wikimedia, they can benefit many travellers.

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Rock Paintings Of Bhimbetka – World Heritage Site Of MP

As you travel towards Hoshangabad from Bhopal, on your right you would be able to see rock formations on small hills. Which at first sight would look intriguing? As you reach the road leading to the caves, you may have to wait at the railway crossing. Which is mostly closed and is opened only when there are enough vehicles to cross and there are no trains in sight. But this is a point where you can refresh and recharge yourself at the MP tourism hotel, just before the railway crossing. You may not get anything including water after this point. For photographers , this is a good point for taking a long-distance shot of the rock shelters.

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Art from PreHistoric Era – Bhimbetka Cave Paintings

About 45km from Bhopal lies the greatest historical site where may be direct descendants of Adam and Eve lived and decided to draw their lives on the walls of the rocks. And over thousands of years these paintings are still intact leaving us a rich heritage to look up to and learn the lifestyle of these cave men. Bhimbetka caves! Though the caves are famous for their rock paintings, it got the name as Bhimbetka because Bheema, one of the five Pandava brothers, lived here during exile. Walking through these caves throws light on the evolution of mankind and it cannot get more interesting than to know how we evolved over years. This might sound like history class but believe me I knew only Ice Age and Stone age till I was here.

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