About Vidisha
Vidisha is an ancient city . Sanghmitra and Mahendra who carried the
message of Buddhism to Sri Lanka and South-East Asia.Geographical conditions have
promoted agricultural activities mainly in Vidisha .
Geographical Data
• Vidisha situated the central part of Madhya Pradesh
• The tropic of cancer runs
through its southern part.
• District Guna/Ashok Nagar
in the North, Sagar in the East, Raisen in the South and Bhopal in the West
surround the district.
• Total area of the District
is 7371 Sq Kms.
•
Small hills of Vindhyachal Mountains ranges
are spread over Gyaraspur, Kurwai, Lateri and Nateran . The hills are covered
with forests especially in Lateri, Nateran and Gyaraspur . The forest cover
14.25 percent area of the district.
•
River Betwa is its main river,
which flows through Vidisha, Annual average rainfall is 1536 mm.
•
According to 2001 census, the
population of the district is 12,14,857.
•
The district literacy rate
presently is 62.10%
History Of Vidisha
The District derives its Name from the Head
Quarters town of Vidisha. The earliest reference of Vidisha is contained in
Ramayana by Valmiki. It is stated there that Shatrughna's Son Shatrughati was
placed in charge of Vidisha. In Brahmanical religious observance again, the
place is called Bhadravati, the residence of Yuvanashva who supplied the famous
horse to Yudhishthira during his Ashvamedha sacrifice.
The historicity of the ancient city of
Besnagar, three Kilometers from Vidisha and identified with ancient Vidisha,
goes back to some centuries before the birth of Christ. Besnagar figures
prominently in Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical Literature in various forms such
as Vessanagar, Vaisyanagar etc. Tradition connects the town with Raja Rukmangada
who neglecting his own wife for the Apsara Visva named the town Vishvanagar after
her.
On the destruction of Besnagar, located on
the western side of the river Betwa sometime after 7th century A.D., a new town
sprang up on the Eastern bank of the River. This new town was known as
Bhailaswamin or Bhillaswamin, the name of the place was later corrupted to
'Bhilsa' or Bhelsa. The name Bhelsa appears to have probably been obtained on account
of the famous Suryamandir dedicated to God Sun.
Mauryas :
Samrat Ashok, still a prince aged 18, was
appointed as a Viceroy by his father, Bindusaar , at Ujjain. While on his way
from Patliputra to that place he met Devi, a banker's daughter of Vidisha or
Besnagar of the Sakya clan and married her. Her son Mahendra, and daughter Sanghmitra
are famous in history as their father's religious ambassadors to Ceylon. They
are known to have carried a twig of the original 'Bodhi' tree and led a
Buddhist Mission to that country. Devi never visited Patliputra. She stayed at
Besnagar only and embraced Buddhism afterwards. A monastery type of building
has been excavated near Sanchi setup (nearly 8 kms away from Vidisha Town)
which is stated to have been constructed for her residence. It is said that
before sailing for Ceylon Mahendra came to visit his mother at Besnagar. The
mother took her son to a " Chaitya Giri " which, by popular belief
was none other than the Sanchi Stup.
After Mauryas :
After the Mauryas the Sungas, the Kanvas,
the Nagas, the Vakatakas, the Guptas, the Kalchuris of Mahishmati the Parmars,
the Chalukyas remained in power at Vidisha. Idols regarding these regimes have
been found in the Vidisha territory. Some Idols and monuments are placed in the
District Archaeology office Vidisha.
Later this region remained under Mughals,
Marathas and Peshwas and thereafter became a part of the Sciendia's Gwalior
State and was a Tehsil of Isagarh Pargana. In 1904 Vidisha was raised to a
District having two Tehsils of Vidisha and Basoda till the formation of Madhya
Bharat in 1948. The District was enlarged in 1949 by the merger of small States
of Kurwai. The Sironj Sub-Division which was formerly in Kota District of
Rajasthan State and small pargana of Piklone belonging to the Bhopal State were
added to the District with the formation of new Madhya Pradesh. At the same
time, the town and the District were renamed as Vidisha. However, under the
Mughals Aurangzeb tried to rename the City as Alamgiri Nagar after himself, but
without success.
Even today, the antiquity and the modern
historical progress of the plateau of Vidisha vividly reflects its grandeur in
the form of Besnagar, Gyaraspur, Udaypur, Udaygiri, Badoh- Pathari etc.
Sanchi World Heritage
Road
and Rail Distanceof Sanchi From Vidisha
9KMs,Sanchi, is a
singular distinction of having remarkable specimen of Buddhist art and
architecture right from the early Mauryan period . Sanchi is famous in the
world for stupas, monolithic Asokan pillar, temples, monasteries and sculptural
wealth.It was Emperor
Asoka who laid the foundations of a religious centre at Sanchi fascinated
probably by the location of the hill or because of his Queen Devi, who was the
daughter of a merchant of Vidisha. He erected the Great Stupa . This stupa was
originally a low structure of brick, half the diameter of the present edifice
hemispherical in shape with raised terraces at the base. It was enclosed by a
wooden railing and a stone umbrella at the top. This Great Stupa served as a
nucleus to the large Buddhist establishment during the later period.
 |
Sanchi, is a
singular distinction of having remarkable specimen of Buddhist art and
architecture right from the early Mauryan period . Sanchi is famous in the
world for stupas, monolithic Asokan pillar, temples, monasteries and sculptural
wealth.
 |
Supta No 1 |
It was Emperor
Asoka who laid the foundations of a religious centre at Sanchi fascinated
probably by the location of the hill or because of his Queen Devi, who was the
daughter of a merchant of Vidisha. He erected the Great Stupa . This stupa was
originally a low structure of brick, half the diameter of the present edifice
hemispherical in shape with raised terraces at the base. It was enclosed by a
wooden railing and a stone umbrella at the top. This Great Stupa served as a
nucleus to the large Buddhist establishment during the later period.
 |
Ashoka Piller |
During Sunga
times, several edifices were raised at Sanchi and its surrounding hills. The
Asokan stupa was enlarged and faced with stones and decorated with balustrades,
staircases and a harmika on the top.
In the first
century BC the Andhra-Satavahanas, who had extended their sway over the eastern
Malwa, caused the elaborately carved gateways to Stupa 1. The Great Stupa of
Sanchi displays an austere grandeur and the exquisite carvings of the doorway
depict in detail the significant episodes and miracles from Lord Buddha’s life
and events depicted in the Buddhist Jataka stories.
The
reconstruction of Temple 40 and erection of Stupas 2 and 3 also seem to date
back around the same time.
Since the fourteenth
century Sanchi remained deserted and uncared for till 1818 when General Taylor
rediscovered the site. Sir John Marshall established an archaeological museum
in 1919, which was later transformed into the present site museum at Sanchi.
Presently under
an UNESCO project Sanchi and Satdhara, a Buddhist site, 10 km south-east of
Sanchi, is being further excavated, conserved and environmentally developed.
EntranceFees
Indian and visitors of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan,
Maldives and Afghanistan) and BIMSTEC Countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri
Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar - Rs. 10 per head.
Others: US $ 5
or Indian Rs. 250/- per head
(children up to 15 years free)
Udaygiri Cavese
Udaygiri is about 4 KMs from the mordern twon of Vidisha and about 13 KMs from Sanchi.They were exrensively carved and reworked by Gupt Emperor Chandra Gupt II in the late 4th and 5th century.
 |
Varaha Avtar Of God Vishnu
Udayagiri consists of a
substantial U-shaped plateau immediately next to the River Bes. Located a shortdistance from the earthen ramparts of ancient Besnagar.
Heliodar Pillar (Khambaba)Near Udaygiri  |
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