Bhubaneswar, Feb 23 (Agency) An ancient cave located atop a small hillock in Narangarh Village near Tapang in Odisha’s Khordha district, is lying in a dilapidated condition and exposed to the mining of Khandolite stones. The cave, called the Pandavahara Gumpha by the locals, is a natural formation that has been widened by chiselling and is very akin to the caves found in the Khandagiri and Udayagiri hills, noted historian Anil Dhir said. An exploration team from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage(INTACH) led by Dhir has recently visited the ancient cave demanded its preservation and conservation Dhir said the cave is 20 feet by 10 feet wide and has a uniform height of 4 feet. There are many rock art and inscriptions carved on the walls with engravings in various geometrical forms and figures of humans and depiction of animals. Stone-age tool implements too have been reportedly found earlier in the vicinity of the cave, he said.
The Cave was known to the villagers on the foothill of the hillock for centuries and was a spot revered by them. Till three decades ago, the cave had been occupied by some holy man but had been abandoned after a small landslide which made the place inaccessible. Dhir said the ancient cave was exposed when the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) started clearance work for mining of Khondalite stone from the area. The land belongs to the Shree Jagannath Temple but has been leased out to OMC for quarrying the stone blocks. The OMC has been digging up the hill for the last two years. The INTACH team had surveyed the cave, documented and recorded the ancient rock carvings and inscriptions. According to Dhir, the animal and human figurines carved on the walls indicate that the cave may have prehistoric origins. It is also very similar to other caves found in the Mahanadi Valley. Biswajit Mohanty, a member of the INTACH team has demanded that all quarrying activity should be immediately stopped as the excavation and cutting has reached the base of the cave and is just 7-10 metres away at the base of the hilltop.
The use of heavy machinery, compressors and cutters just near the cave will spell its doom, he remarked. INTACH member Deepak Nayak, who has earlier discovered half a dozen such caves in the Mahanadi delta area, said the inscriptions carved on the walls are in the Brahmi script. The symbols have motifs of both Jainism and Buddhism. According to him, a proper study of the inscriptions should be undertaken by epigraphists and experts. Nayak apprehended that the nearby hillocks too may hold such ancient wonders and that a proper archaeological survey of the region should be undertaken by the ASI and the State Archaeological Department. Odisha perhaps has the highest number of prehistoric rock art and caves among all states. While most of these sites are found in the hills of Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur and Kalahandi, recent discoveries by the INTACH teams in the lower Mahanadi Valley in Kandhamal district and other areas need proper study, Nayak said. However, the survey team is certain that the antiquity of the Narangarh cave inscriptions is not less than 1,500 years old. INTACH Odisha State Convener Amiya Bhusan Tripathy said the matter of the Pandavahara caves will be taken up with the state and central authorities for proper conservation and preservation. He said the INTACH is already in touch with the Odisha Culture Department for the preservation of the Rock Art in the Bhima Mandali and a report has been submitted. Since the rock art site is about 45 minutes away from Bhubaneswar it can be turned into a major tourist attraction for heritage tourism, Tripathy said.