Excavations at Bandhavgarh National Park

Why in news?

• Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered remarkable archaeological remains in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve.

About the latest discovery by ASI:

• 26 caves which are mostly Buddhist in nature.
• Remains of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism like chaitya-shaped doors and cells containing stone beds.
• Ancient temples of Kalachuri period (9th century CE to 11th Century CE).
• A large Varaha sculpture datable to the 9th – 13th century CE. It appears to be the world’s largest sculpture.
• 24 Brahmi inscriptions (2nd century CE to 5th century CE)
  • Important kings of the era mentioned in the inscriptions include Shri Bhimsena, Maharaja Pothasiri and Bhattadeva.

About Bandhavgarh National Park:

• Bandhavgarh National Park is located in Madhya Pradesh, in northern edges of the Satpura mountain ranges.
• Bandhavgarh has a very high density of tigers.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Recently Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered remarkable archaeological remains in Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve. The archeological remains were primary related to:

(a) Jainism

(b) Buddhism

(c) Shaivism

(d) Shaktism

                        B

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