Jogimara Cave, Ramgarh,
Chattisgarh
Jogimara Cave is a cave situated on the Ramgarh Hills in Ramgarh Town in Udaipur Tehsil in Surguja District in the Indian state of Chattisgarh. The cave is situated to the adjacent to the Sita Bengra Cave. It is one of the protected monuments in Chattisgarh declared by Archaeological Survey of India.
Legends
As per legend, Lord Rama along with his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana stayed in these caves during their exile. Hence, one of the caves came to be called as Sita Bengra (residence of Sita) and the hill came to be called as Ramagiri Hill.
History
The cave is said to have excavated in 4th century CE. The britishers discovered the cave in 1875 CE. It is believed that Kalidas visited the hills in the 4th century CE. He composed his magnum opus Meghdoot, a poem of 111 shlokas or stanzas, here during his stay. Hindi playwright Mohan Rakesh wrote Ashad Ka Ek Din In the late 1950s. It depicts the inner struggle of poet Kalidas, caught between love and fame. Local artistes later built an auditorium at the foothill and began the yearly Ramgarh Mahotsava on the first day of the month of Ashad – the day Meghdoot's Yaksha spotted the cloud.
The Cave
The Cave is facing towards north-east, lies adjacent to the Sita Bengra cave to its west. The cave is smaller than Sita Bengra. It is artificially carved cave measuring 3 x 1.8 x 1.8 m. It is considered that it served as a resting place for the girls employed in theatre i.e. Sita Bengra. The caves can be reached through a natural tunnel. Even elephants can pass through this 55 m long tunnel. Hence, the tunnel came to be called as Hathipol (Elephant Cave).
The walls and ceiling of this cave were adorned with exquisite paintings dating back to 3rd century BCE. The painting was laid on white base plaster although in some places the paint had been laid also on the unprepared base. The painting was done in two layers. The original layer was dated to the 3rd century BCE and the second layer was done in later period & of inferior quality. The paintings on the ceiling consist of panels of procession, chariots, singers, dancers, dancing couple, torana motifs, trees, animals & birds.
Most of the paintings are in a good state of preservation. The cave also has an inscription written in Brahmi script, which is considered as the first documented written messages of love in the world. This inscription dates back to the 3rd century BC. The inscription reads as "Roopdaksh Devdin is enamoured by Devdasi Sutunuka." Roopdaksh is a sculptor, Devdasi a dancer.
Connectivity
The
Cave is located at about 3 Kms from Udaipur Bus Stand, 40 Kms from Ambikapur
Airport, 44 Kms from Ambikapur, 48 Kms from Ambikapur Railway Station, 65 Kms
from Parla, 134 Kms from Korba, 179 Kms from Bilaspur and 191 Kms from Bilaspur
Airport. The temple is situated at about 3 Kms from Udaipur off the Ambikapur
to Korba route via Parla.
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