हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Undavalli Caves

Across the Krishna from Vijayawada a whole hillside has been cut into a four-storeyed temple, and on its upper floor Bhagwan Vishnu lies on Shesha in a single carved figure about five metres long.

Built: Four-storeyed rock-cut temple cut into a sandstone hill, generally placed in the 4th–5th century CE, Vishnukundina periodWhere: Andhra Pradesh (Guntur district, opposite Vijayawada)Deity: Anantapadmanabha, Vishnu reclining on Shesha16.50° N, 80.58° E
Photo: Kalasagary · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Narayana asleep on the hill

The caves are cut into the face of a sandstone hill above the Krishna, in four levels, with pillared halls and cells. Scholars place the work in the age of the Vishnukundina kings, who ruled the Krishna delta in the 4th–5th centuries, and some earlier cells may have been made for monks. The finest thing in the caves is the reclining Vishnu, Anantapadmanabha, carved out of the living rock with the coils and hoods of Shesha beneath him and devas and rishis around. Other halls carry images of the Trimurti and of Narasimha.

02Near the Durga hill

The caves face the city of Vijayawada and the Indrakeeladri hill where Kanaka Durga is worshipped, and pilgrims to the Devi often cross the river to see them. The site is a monument of national importance under the Archaeological Survey. A small temple of Narasimha is still in worship at the foot of the hill. The upper floors give a wide view of the Krishna and the city, and the paths between the levels are cut in the rock.

Visiting

About 6 km from Vijayawada across the Prakasam barrage. Open daily; small ASI entry fee.

Nearby

Kanaka Durga Temple, VijayawadaStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Kanaka Durga Temple, Vijayawada

The golden Durga of Indrakeeladri hill above the Krishna at Vijayawada, the city that takes its name from Arjuna’s victory. Her Navaratri is the largest festival in Andhra.

Panakala Narasimha Temple, MangalagiriStanding
Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

Panakala Narasimha Temple, Mangalagiri

One of the eight great Narasimha kshetras of Andhra, where the open mouth of Narasimha on the hill drinks exactly half of whatever jaggery water is poured in, and gives back the rest as prasad.

Amaravati (Dhanyakataka) and the MahachaityaExcavated
Shungas, Satavahanas, Kharavela and the Sangam Kingdoms

Amaravati (Dhanyakataka) and the Mahachaitya

Dhanyakataka on the Krishna, a Satavahana royal city whose great stupa produced some of the finest stone carving of ancient India. Beside it stands the Amareswara temple, one of the five Pancharama shrines of Shiva.

Amararama, Amareswara Temple, AmaravatiStanding
Cholas and the Southern Seas

Amararama, Amareswara Temple, Amaravati

The first of the five Pancharamas, on the south bank of the Krishna at Amaravati. The linga here is held to have been installed by Indra, which gives the place its name, the arama of the Amaras.