Saru-Maru Buddhist caves- Madhya Pradesh

Address

Saru-Maru Buddhist caves- Budhani Tehsil, Sehore District, Madhya Pradesh 466446

Diety

Buddha

Introduction

Saru Maru is the archaeological site of an ancient monastic complex and Buddhist caves. The site is located near the village of Pangoraria, Budhani Tehsil, Sehore District, Madhya Pradesh, India. The site is about 120 km south of Sanchi. The site contains a number of stupas as well as natural caves for monks. In the caves many Buddhist graffiti have been found (swastika, triratna, kalasa). In the main cave were found two inscriptions of Ashoka: a version of the Minor Rock Edict n°1, one of the Edicts of Ashoka, and another inscription mentioning the visit of Maharaha Kumara. According to the inscription, it would seem that Ashoka visited this Buddhist monastic complex, and viceroy of the region of Madhya Pradesh, while his residence was to be at Vidisha. The Cave is believed to be 2200 years old. During the course of clearance monastery complex was exposed. Remains of Stupa and other related structures were also explored.