Category:Silahara Caves, Gambhirwa Tola Anuppur

Silahara Caves, Gambhirwa Tola Anuppur 

A group of 1st-century Hindu caves with Brahmi script inscriptions
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Instance of	monument
Location	Anuppur district, Shahdol division, Madhya Pradesh, India
23° 08′ 17.1″ N, 81° 57′ 52.4″ E
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The mid-1st century CE Silahara caves – also referred to as the Silhara caves, Silagriha gupha or Silagaha caves – are five rock-cut caves on the scenic eastern banks of Kewai river in Madhya Pradesh. Of the five, only four are preserved and the fifth is too eroded for scholarly studies.

A remote site near the border with Chhattisgarh, about 60 kilometers northeast of Amarkantak, three of the Silhara caves – the Sitamadi cave, the Durvasa cave, and the Cheri-Godadi cave – contain inscriptions in the Brahmi script (translated) and Shell script (not yet translated). Those identified as ancient inscriptions include seven Sanskrit inscriptions in Brahmi script. These caves are significant for the following reasons:

• These are the oldest Hindu caves known in eastern Madhya Pradesh
• Like the Category:Jogimara and Sitabenga caves in north Chhattisgarh, at least one of the Silhara caves was originally intended as a non-religious place for entertainment, or in this case merry-making (vacation retreat!). This Silagaha (literally, "rock mansion") cave has an inscription stating that it was built as cave for love-making and enjoyment of Muladeva, minister of Svamidatta.
• These caves are the oldest known epigraphical evidence of inter-caste Hindu marriage in ancient India. They mention the marriage between a Brahmin and a Kshatriya. According to D.R. Bhandarkar, the "conclusion [from the inscriptions in Silahara caves and Sanskrit texts that can be dated to the same period] is therefore irresistible that in the ancient period ranging from ores 160 B.C. to circa 250 A.D. there were many inter-caste marriages, which were not only amuloma but also protiloma" (Source: Epigraphia Indica, Vol 22, pp. 30–37)

The site has numerous crude and somewhat refined reliefs, as well as layers of ancient inscriptions and modern era graffiti. The rock walls along the river also has some crude and eroded reliefs of animals, birds, etc.