Udayagiri Caves

The Udayagiri Caves are an early Hindu ritual site located near Vidisha in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Northern India. They were extensively carved and reworked under the command of Chandragupta II, Emperor of the Gupta Empire, in the late 4th and 5th century CE. One of India's most important archaeological sites from the Gupta period, it is currently a tourist site under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Udayagiri consists of a substantial U-shaped plateau immediately next to the River Bes. Located a short distance from the earthen ramparts of ancient Besnagar, Udayagiri is about 4 km from the modern town of Vidisha and about 13 km from the Buddhist site of Sanchi. Udayagiri is best known for a series of rock-cut sanctuaries and images excavated into hillside in the early years of the fifth century CE. The most famous sculpture is the monumental figure of Viṣṇu in his incarnation as the boar-headed Varaha. The site has important inscriptions of the Gupta dynasty belonging to the reigns of Chandragupta I (c. 375-415) and Kumaragupta I (c. 415-55). In addition to these remains, Udayagiri has a series of rock-shelters and petroglyphs, ruined buildings, inscriptions, water systems, fortifications and habitation mounds, all of which have been only partially investigated.

There are a number of places in India with the same name, the most notable being the mountain called Udayagiri at Rajgir in Bihar and the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves in Orissa.