ASI finds remains of Buddhist caves, temples in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

The Archaeological Survey of India has found ancient caves and temples, remains of Buddhist structures and mural inscriptions bearing names of cities like Mathura and Kaushambi in old scripts during its recent exploration at Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, officials said on Wednesday.

An ASI team covered nearly 170 sq km falling in the area of the famous Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve that is not accessible to public during the over a month-long exploration of the region which it undertook for the first since 1938, they said.

During the exercise held from May 20-June 27, the ASI's Jabalpur Circle also reported many ancient sculptures, including large monolithic sculptures of various avatars of Vishnu like 'Varaha' and 'Matsya', and "board games made in natural caves", officials said.

Superintending Archaelogist of the Jabalpur Circle, S K Bajpai, who led the team, shared details and images from the exploration during a media interaction at the ASI headquarters here.

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