ASI FINDS BUDDHIST CAVES, TEMPLES IN BANDHAVGARH TIGER RESERVE

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) earlier this year discovered Buddhist caves and stupas, and Brahmi inscriptions, dating back to the 2nd century, and Hindu temples from the 9th-11th centuries, and possibly the world’s largest Varaha sculpture also dating to the same period, at the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Varaha sculpture is among the many monolithic sculptures of the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu discovered by the ASI at the national park earlier this year.
• The exploration took place 84 years after the last such effort in 1938.
• “A total of 46 sculptures have come to light and have been reported,” ShivakantBajpai, Superintending Archaeologist, Jabalpur Circle, who led the exploration team, said here on Wednesday.
• The ASI team discovered 26 mostly Buddhist caves dating back to the 2nd and 5th centuries.
• The caves and some of their remains had Chaitya [rounded] doors and stone beds typical of Mahayana Buddhism sites.
• This discovery brings the total number of caves found in Bandhavgarh to 76, as 50 are already in the records since the last survey.
• Apart from this, the ASI team found 24 inscriptions in Brahmi text, all dating back to the 2nd-5th centuries.
• The inscriptions mention sites such as Mathura and Kaushambi, and Pavata, Vejabharada and Sapatanaairikaa.
• The kings they mention include Bhimsena, Pothasiri and Bhattadeva.
• The remains of 26 temples date to the Kalachuri period between 9th and 11th centuries.
• In addition to this, two Saiva maths have also been documented.
• The Kalachuri dynasty, which spread over parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, is also associated with the earliest Ellora and Elephanta cave monuments.
• Eastern Command’s ex-chief Anil Chauhan is Chief of DefenceStaffNew CDS will have the task of taking forward the reorganisation of the armed forces into integrated theatre commands as well as building consensus, synergy and efficiency

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT