Bhimbetika Paintings

The sprawling caves of Bhimbetka (2405’N and 76045’E) are located about 45 km northeast of Bhopal, the state capital of Madhya Pradesh. Situated along the Bhopal-Hoshangabad highway, these caves bear proximity to the Bhiyapura village in Raisen district. The northern fringes of the ancient Vindhyachal ranges are home to the extraordinary rock shelters and paintings, its awesome rocks fortifying the ancient treasure within. Ensconced amidst lush greenery in dense forests, and rocky terrain and craggy cliffs, with the lofty rocks guarding the ancient premises, the caves of Bhimbetka present a breathtaking view even from as far as Obaidullaganj, a small town in the vicinity of Bhimbetka.

Bhimbetka is a natural art gallery and an archaeological treasure. The rock paintings have numerous layers belonging to various epochs of time, ranging from the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic Age to the protohistoric, early historic and medieval periods. The most ancient scenes here believed to be commonly belonging to the Mesolithic Age. These magnificent paintings can be seen even on the ceiling of the rock shelters located at daunting heights.  The cover of the dense forest and vegetation protected these rocks painting from being lost to the vagaries of nature. Executed mainly in red and white, with the occasional use of green and yellow with themes taken from the everyday events of eons ago, the scenes usually depict hunting, dancing, horse and elephant riders, animal fights, honey collection, decoration of bodies, disguises, masks and different type of animals etc. It depicts the detail of social life during the long period of time, when man used to frequent these rock shelters.

Animals such as bison, tiger, rhinoceros, wild boar, elephants, monkeys, antelopes, lizards, peacocks etc. have been abundantly depicted in the rock shelters. Popular religious and ritual symbols also occur frequently. The colours used by the cave dwellers were prepared by combining manganese, hematite, soft red stone and wooden charcoal. Perhaps, animal fat and extracts of leaves were also used in the mixture.

The rock art of Bhimbetka has been classified into various groups on the basis of the style and subject. The superimposition of paintings shows that the same canvas was used by different people at different times. The drawings and paintings can be classified under seven different periods.(Text credit - ASI web site)