Bagh Caves

The Bagh Caves are a group of nine rock-cut monuments on the southern slopes of the Vindhya Range, in Bagh town of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh, central India, 97 km from Dhar town. They are renowned for mural paintings by master painters of ancient India. The caves were excavated, not naturally formed, and are examples of Indian rock-cut architecture.

Like those at Ajanta, they were cut by master craftsmen into the perpendicular sandstone rock face of a hill on the far bank of a seasonal stream, the Baghani. They are Buddhist in inspiration, but of the nine caves only five have survived. All are viharas, or resting places of monks, with a quadrangular plan, and a small chamber usually at the back forms the chaitya, the prayer hall. The most significant of the five is Cave 4, commonly known as the Rang Mahal (Palace of Colors).

The caves were quarried in the 5th-6th century AD, in the very late stages of Buddhism in India and long after most Indian Buddhist caves had been built, many of them since the 2nd or 1st centuries BCE. They are believed to have been built during the 5th-7th century. A copperplate inscription of Maharaja Subandhu, recording his donation for the repair of the vihara, was found at Cave 2. Its own date is missing, but his Badwani copperplate is dated to the year (Gupta era) 167 (487), placing the repair of Cave 2 in the late 5th century.

The paintings on the walls and ceilings were executed in tempera, and fragments survive in Cave 3 and Cave 4, with remnants in Caves 2, 5 and 7. The ground was a reddish-brown gritty and thick mud plaster, over which lime-priming was applied. Some of the most beautiful paintings were on the walls of the portico of Cave 4. Their characteristics are like those of the Ajanta Caves, and they are described as materialistic rather than spiritualistic.

Cave 2, the best preserved, is also known as Pandava Cave. Most paintings were carefully removed in 1982 to prevent further loss and can now be seen in the Gujari Mahal Archeological Museum in Gwalior. The Archaeological Survey of India has restored the caves over 17 years.

The paintings on the wall and ceilings of the Viharas of Bagh, the fragments of which are still visible in Cave 3 and Cave 4 (remnants seen also in Caves 2, 5 and 7), were executed in tempera. Cave 2 is the best preserved cave, also known as "Pandava Cave" These paintings are materialistic rather than spiritualistic. Characteristics of paintings are like those of Ajanta Caves. The ground prepared was a reddish-brown gritty and thick mud plaster, laid out on the walls and ceilings. Over the plaster, lime-priming was done, on which these paintings were executed. Some of the most beautiful paintings were on the walls of the portico of Cave 4. To prevent further loss of the values of Indian classical art, most paintings were carefully removed in 1982 and today can be seen in the Gujari Mahal Archeological Museum, in Gwalior.