Udaigiri Caves (Udaigiri-Sonpura villages
of vidisha district) are a group of 20 rock cut caves, carved
into a sandstone hill that stand, sentinel like, on the
horizon. These primarily denoted to Hindu gods Vishnu
and Shiva and contain iconography of Hinduism and
Jainism. Cave no. I and 20 are related to Jainism. It is
estimated that these were carved during 4th to 5th A.D.
The caves represents all the distinctive features of
Classical Gupta art – its simplicity of expression, the
beautifully moulded capitals, the treatment of the
inter columination, the design of the entranceway and the
system of continuing the architrave as a string course
round the structure, religious virtuosity etc. Cave 4 Known
as Bina Cave. An impressive Shiva Lingam is there inside
Cave 4.
Notable Fact : There are a number of places in
India with the same name, the most notable being
the mountain called Udayagiri at Rajgir(Bihar) and
the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves in
Odisha. Udayagiri Hathi Gumpha near
Bhuneshwar(Orisa) is mentioned as Kumari Parvat
in Hathigumpha inscription (Odisha).