Shubhadeep Choudhury
New Delhi, September 29
The Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, known for its obliging big cat population who show up before visitors with relatively less fuss than their cousins in tiger parks elsewhere in the country, has been found to be a treasure trove of archaeological antiquities.
A team of archaeologists led by Shivakant Bajpai, Superintending Archaeologist, Jabalpur Circle of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), have braved the threat of tigers and wild elephants, to explore the archaeological ruins found in the dense forest.
“In the exploration, remarkable archaeological remains came to light which added a new chapter in the history of Baghelkhand,” Bajpai said here while talking to reporters at the ASI head office.
The archeological remains documented by the team cover a period spanning over nearly 13 centuries. While caves ndash; mostly Buddhist in nature ndash; are the earliest dated (2nd Century AD to 5th Century AD) signs of human habitation in the area, water bodies dug as late as 15th Century AD have been also found on the site.
Twenty-four Brahmi inscriptions datable from 2nd century CE to 5th century CE have been found by the Bajpai-led team. Inscriptions have also been found written in Shankh and Nagari scripts. Names of places like Kaushambi, Mathura, Pavata (Parvata), Vejabharada and Sapatanaairikaa have been found mentioned in the inscriptions.
Bajpai said that while the names of Kaushambi and Mathura have not changed and the two places can still be found in Uttar Pradesh, they are trying to locate the other places named in the inscriptions. Important kings mentioned in the inscriptions are “Maharaja Shri Bhimsena”, “Maharaja Pothasiri” and “Maharaja Bhattadeva”.
The ASI team has taken upon themselves the task of finishing the work that was started by NP Chakravarti nearly a century back.
Chakravarti, an epigraphist who later became Director General of ASI, had published his research on Brahmi inscriptions of Bandhavgarh back in 1938. He also documented some of the ancient Hindu temples and sculptures of the area back then.
Since then, there has been a long period of inactivity which lasted till the Bajpai-led ASI team started their work of archaeological exploration of the area in May-June this year.
The tiger reserve, spread over 1,100 sq km, is divided into three zones. So far, the ASI team has completed exploration in one zone only. Bajpai is hoping that the exploration of the two remaining zones will unearth more antiquities making Bandhavgarh a premier archaeological site in the country.
However, being a tiger reserve, unrestricted access to tourists to the sites is unlikely to be allowed. “We are carrying out the explorations after obtaining permission from the Forest Department,” Bajpai said.