File:Silhara Cave Inscription in Sitamadi cave, Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh 027.jpg

English: For an ink impression on paper of the above, see inscription No. 4 (middle of the page) in

File:Silhara Cave Sanskrit Inscriptions, Durvasa, Sitamadi caves.jpg

Background:

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 scripts from 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE. Two of these are long (c. 50 CE), some quite short and incomplete.

These caves are significant for the following reasons:

• 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 merry-making. This Silagaha (literally, "rock mansion") cave has an inscription stating that it was built as cave for love-making and enjoyment of a regional minister.
• 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 Sanskrit scholar, epigraphist and archaeologist 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)
• These are the oldest Hindu caves known in eastern Madhya Pradesh

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.