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Undavalli

Village on the south bank of the Krishna opposite Vijayawada (Bezwada), in Guntur district. It is known for its large rock-cut temple of several storeys with a colossal reclining Vishnu. G. Jouveau-Dubreuil attributed the caves to the Vishnukundins. A. H. Longhurst thought them Pallava work of the early 7th century.

Old photograph of the Undavalli rock-cut temple: the face of a hill carved into three tiers of pillared verandas above a lower row of dark openings, with vegetation on the rock above and scrub in front.
Old photograph of the Undavalli rock-cut temple: the face of a hill carved into three tiers of pillared verandas above a lower row of dark openings, with vegetation on the rock above and scrub in front. · A. H. Longhurst (Archaeological Survey of India); photo-engraved and printed at the Offices of the Survey of India, Calcutta, 1923 (opens in a new tab) · Public domain

Undavalli lies in Guntur district on the south bank of the Krishna, opposite Vijayawada (then Bezwada).1 In A. H. Longhurst’s time it could be reached by boat from Vijayawada or from Tadepalle, the next station on the Guntur line.1 The rock-cut temples are in a rocky hill about two miles north-west of Tadepalle station.1 They face north-east, towards the river.1

The caves

The village is known for the Undavalli cave temple, cut out of the natural rock.12 It has a ground floor and three upper storeys, with a colossal image of Vishnu lying on the serpent.12 Four smaller unfinished rock-cut shrines and some rough carvings lie nearby.12

Longhurst grouped the Undavalli caves with the rock-cut temples at Vijayawada and the neighbouring hamlet of Mogalrajapuram, across the river.3

Who cut them?

G. Jouveau-Dubreuil argued in 1917 that the caves of Undavalli were the work of the Vishnukundins.45 He pointed to lions carved on the pillars, like the lion on the seals of their grants.45

Longhurst, writing in 1924, thought there was no proof of this.62 On grounds of architecture he took the caves to be Pallava work of the early 7th century.62 See the monument page for the evidence.

Footnotes

  1. Longhurst, Pallava Architecture, Part I (1924), p. 27 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  2. Longhurst, Pallava Architecture, Part I (1924), p. 30 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Longhurst, Pallava Architecture, Part I (1924), p. 22 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  4. G. Jouveau-Dubreuil, The Pallavas (1917), p. 33 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  5. Jouveau-Dubreuil, The Pallavas (1917), p. 34 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  6. A. H. Longhurst, Pallava Architecture, Part I (Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India No. 17, 1924), p. 5 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

Photos

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Monuments

Undavalli cave temple

Four-storeyed rock-cut temple on the south bank of the Krishna opposite Vijayawada. Medieval inscriptions call it Anantashayanagudi, after its huge image of Vishnu lying on the serpent. No inscription records who cut it. G. Jouveau-Dubreuil (1917, 1920) gave it and the caves of Bezwada, Mogalrajapuram and Sitanagaram to the Vishnukundins. A. H. Longhurst (1924) judged it a Pallava monument of the time of Mahendravarman I.

References

Sources (2)
  1. A. H. Longhurst, Pallava Architecture, Part I (Early Period) (Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India No. 17) (opens in a new tab), Government of India Central Publication Branch, Calcutta, 1924, pp. 22, 27–30. A. H. Longhurst, Pallava Architecture, Part I. [Public domain]
  2. G. Jouveau-Dubreuil (tr. V. S. Swaminadha Dikshitar), The Pallavas (opens in a new tab), The author, Pondicherry, 1917, pp. 33–35. [Public domain]

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