Six Heritage Sites in Tentative UNESCO List

Context

Madhya Pradesh’s six heritage sites have been included in the tentative UNESCO list.

About

The sites are Gwalior Fort, the historical Group of Dhamnar, the Rock Art Sites of Chambal Valley, Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple, Burhanpur’s Khooni Bhandara and the Gond monuments of Ramnagar, Mandla.

MP is home to three UNESCO heritage sites – Sanchi Stupa, Khajuraho Group of Monuments and Bhimbetka Rock Shelters.

Gwalior Fort

It is located on the basalt rock hills.

It was initiated by Raja Sourya Sena who finished the fortification system around the plateau in 773CE.

The modern-day fort, embodying a defensive structure and two palaces was built by the Tomar Rajput ruler Man Singh Tomar in 1398.

Ancient Temples in the Gwalior fort includes:

Teli ka Mandir, dedicated to lord Shiva, Vishnu, and Matrikas.

The Chaturbhuj temple which has mathematical connection where the second oldest reference to zero in mathematics is seen in a carving.

The adjoining twin temples are known as Sas Bahu temples, dedicated to Vishnu and have an inscription from 1150 CE.

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Historical Group of Dhamnar

The Dhamnar caves are located on a hill near the village of Dhamnar.(Mandsaur district)

The rock-cut temple site has 51 caves, stupas, chaityas, passages and dense dwellings and was built in the 7th century AD.

The site contains a colossal statue of Gautam Buddha in the nirvana pose.

Bhojeshwar Mahadev Temple

The temple is thousand-year-old and dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is set on a 3-tier sandstone platform in 6 meters square.

It has architectural grandeur, colossal lingam, and historical significance.

It was built during the 11th century under the patronage of Raja Bhoj in Bhojpur and represents the zenith of temple architecture during the Paramara period in India.

Rock Art Sites of Chambal Valley

At Daraki-Chattan in the Chambal basin, a cave in the quartzite buttresses of Indragarh hill.

The vertical walls of the cave boast more than 500 cupules. On the southern wall of the cave at Daraki-Chattan, small circular cupules show conical depth and are about two million years old.

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Khooni Bhandara

It is an underground water management system comprising eight waterworks built in Burhanpur.

It is the Mughal period water work following the persian qanat approach.

It was built by erstwhile ruler Abdurrahim Khankhana in 1615.

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Gond Memorial of Ramnagar

The architectural complexes were built by Gond kings of Garha Mandla, Hirde Shah and located on the bank of the Narmada river in Ramnagar.

The cluster of monuments include the following:

Moti Mahal (Rajmahal), Ramnagar, Mandla

Raibhagat ki Kothi, Ramnagar, Mandla

Vishnu Mandir (Suraj mandir), Ramnagar, Mandla

Begum Mahal, Chaugan Rayotwari

Dalbadal Mahal, Chaugan Ryotwari

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