File:0112421 Saptamatrika Caves, Badoh-Pathari Madhya Pradesh 140.jpg

English: The Saptamatrika cave, also referred to as the Saptamatrka sculptures or the Saptamātṛ panel, is a mid 5th-century rock-cut monument on the southwestern foot of Gyannath hill. It is a complex site with many structures. Of these, the panel of seven mother goddesses of Hinduism is famous. It is the oldest known rock-cut relief of mother goddesses on Indian subcontinent and Hindu sites of southeast Asia. Next to the seven mothers is a 5th-century inscription panel in Gupta script.

The Saptamatrika cave site includes a cave that is to the immediate left of the Saptamatrika panel, a mandapa, circular rock-cut holes in the rock which may have been a part of a lost temple or used to hoist temporary pillars, some ruins of a lost temple, sketches on rock of Shiva linga and devotees, some graffiti, rock-cut open space possibly for congregation, many rock-cut long benches. The site has many more inscriptions in post-Gupta era script through Devanagari script, as well as shell script. The diversity of artwork and inscriptions at this site suggests that it remained active through about the 14th-century.

The Saptamatrika panel is 2.8 meters wide and 0.5 meters high and has eight reliefs. It shows the seven Hindu goddesses sitting in a row, separately on their own benches, in bhadrasana. The eighth figure is on the far left, near the cave, and is a male in lalitasana. He is ithyphallic Rudra-Shiva. To the immediate right of the panel is the inscription in Gupta script, it is about 1 meter wide by 0.30 meters tall. There is a second panel right above the inscription, which looks like a damaged jumble. The 20th-century photos of this upper rock-cut panel show traces of an elephant and other Hindu art.

This site is significant because it establishes that goddess worship is an ancient Hindu tradition, and it was already well established in central India by about 450 CE. The inscription provides clues to the context and how Hindu traditions were related to each other. Though parts of this Gupta era inscription are damaged, the inscription pays homage to the mothers as well as Rudra and Skanda – thus linking Shaivism and Shaktism.

Background:

Badoh-Pathari was a major ancient religious and trade hub with many 4th to 6th-century Gupta era monuments and inscriptions, as well as temples through the 11th-century. Rock paintings, microliths and archaeological items discovered here and locations within about 10 miles suggest that this is one of most ancient sites with human activity and creative innovation in central India. Badoh-Pathari along with nearby sites such as Eran and Ramgarh have yielded objective evidence for better understanding of ancient India, as well as the development of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. Sanskrit texts and early inscriptions found in this region call it Vatodaka. This likely evolved to Vatanagara, then Barnagara, finally to their modern era rural vernacular names.

Badoh-Pathari are now a pair of neighboring villages in eastern Malwa, Vidisha district. Pathari means "rocky, hillock" it is the older site and now the village to the north of Badoh. They are located in a somewhat remote, scenic terrain punctuated by monadnocks. The twin villages are in a valley within four hills – Gyannath, Gadori, Anhora and Sapa – of which the Gyannath (Jnannath) hill is the highest. These hillocks are a rich source of beautiful and excellent constructional sandstone, and they offered a natural resource to build caves, stambhas (pillars) and temples.

Badoh-Pathari has many notable Hindu temples with Shiva, Devi (Shakta) and Vishnu artwork, as well as some notable Jain monuments. Modern highways and roads built in late 2010s have significantly improved access to numerous historic sites centered around Badoh-Pathari.