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Vidisha or Besnagar as it is called in the Pali scriptures, once the prosperous capital of the western dominions of the Sungas, contains some remarkable antiquities that throw light on the considerable architectural development of the period.

Situated in the fork of the Betwa and Bes rivers, Vidisha, 10 km from Sanchi, occupies an important place amongst the ancient cities in India. In the 6th and 5th centuries BC, it rose to become an important trade centre and a bustling city under the Sungas, Nagas, Satvahanas and Guptas. The Emperor Ashoka was governor of Vidisha, and it finds mention in Kalidasa's immortal Meghdoot. Deserted for three centuries after the 6th century, it was renamed Bhilsa by the Muslims who built the now ruined Bija Mandal, a mosque constructed from the remains of Hindu temples. It later passed on to the Malwa Sultans, the Mughals, and the Scindias.

Vidisha district of Madhya Pradesh extends between Latitude 23⁰ 21' and 24⁰ 22' North and Longitude 77⁰15' 30" and 78⁰18' East. The District is situated in Eastern part of the fertile Malwa Region. The shape of this District is more or less Elliptical and the longer axis lies from North West to South East with slight projections on the North, North-West, South and South-West. Its greatest length from North-West to South-East is about 133.6 km and the greatest width from North-East to South-West is about 96 km . The Tropic of Cancer passes through the Southern stretch of the District about 2 km South of the District Head Quarters. It is bounded in the North by Guna District in the South by Raisen District and in the East by Sagar District.

The District derives its Name from the Head Quarters town of Vidisha. The earliest reference of Vidisha is contained in Ramayana by Valmiki. It is stated there that Shatrughna's Son Shatrughati was placed in charge of Vidisha. In Brahmanical religious observance again, the place is called Bhadravati, the residence of Yuvanashva who supplied the famous horse to Yudhishthira during his Ashvamedha sacrifice.

The historicity of the ancient city of Besnagar, three Kilometers from Vidisha and identified with ancient Vidisha, goes back to some centuries before the birth of Christ. Besnagar figures prominently in Buddhist, Jain and Brahmanical Literature in various forms such as Vessanagar, Vaisyanagar etc. Tradition connects the town with Raja Rukmangada who neglecting his own wife for the Apsara Visva named the town Vishvanagar after her.

On the destruction of Besnagar, located on the western side of the river Betwa sometime after 7th century A.D., a new town sprang up on the Eastern bank of the River. This new town was known as Bhailaswamin or Bhillaswamin, the name of the place was later corrupted to 'Bhilsa' or Bhelsa. The name Bhelsa appears to have probably been obtained on account of the famous Suryamandir dedicated to God Sun.

Samrat Ashok, still a prince aged 18, was appointed as a Viceroy by his father, Bindusaar, at Ujjain. While on his way from Patliputra to that place he met Devi, a banker's daughter of Vidisha or Besnagar of the Sakya clan and married her. Her son Mahendra, and daughter Sanghmitra are famous in history as their father's religious ambassadors to Ceylon. They are known to have carried a twig of the original 'Bodhi' tree and led a Buddhist Mission to that country. Devi never visited Patliputra. She stayed at Besnagar only and embraced Buddhism afterwards. A monastery type of building has been excavated near Sanchi setup (nearly 8 kms away from Vidisha Town) which is stated to have been constructed for her residence. It is said that before sailing for Ceylon Mahendra came to visit his mother at Besnagar. The mother took her son to a " Chaitya Giri " which, by popular belief was none other than the Sanchi Stup.

After the Mauryas the Sungas, the Kanvas, the Nagas, the Vakatakas, the Guptas, the Kalchuris of Mahishmati the Parmars, the Chalukyas remained in power at Vidisha. Idols regarding these regimes have been found in the Vidisha territory. Some Idols and monuments are placed in the District Archaeology office Vidisha.

Later this region remained under Mughals, Marathas and Peshwas and thereafter became a part of the Sciendia's Gwalior State and was a Tehsil of Isagarh Pargana. In 1904 Vidisha was raised to a District having two Tehsils of Vidisha and Basoda till the formation of Madhya Bharat in 1948. The District was enlarged in 1949 by the merger of small States of Kurwai. The Sironj Sub-Division which was formerly in Kota District of Rajasthan State and small pargana of Piklone belonging to the Bhopal State were added to the District with the formation of new Madhya Pradesh. At the same time, the town and the District were renamed as Vidisha. However, under the Mughals Aurangzeb tried to rename the City as Alamgiri Nagar after himself, but without success.

Even today, the antiquity and the modern historical progress of the plateau of Vidisha vividly reflects its grandeur in the form of Besnagar, Gyaraspur, Udaypur, Udaygiri, Badoh-Pathari etc.

The extensive ruins, scattered in and around the Tehsil, narrate the story of glory that was Gyaraspur in the late ancient and early Tediaeval times. These ruins indicate that the place has passed through the influence of Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jainism.

According to Purana's 'Bhagabhadra' was a King of Sunga Dynasty. During his reign the Greek King Antialcidas of Taxila sent Dion's son Heliodorous, as his personal Ambassador to the Sunga court at Vidisha and a part of this information is inscribed on a lofty Garuda Pillar (Eagle Mounted Tower) locally named as Kham-Baba a favourite deity of Bhois or Dhimars.The inscription engraved on the pillar records the name of the pillar as Garuda-dhvaja, the column surmounted by Garuda which was erected by Heliodorous in the honour of God Vasudeo in front of the temple of Vasudeva.

Location : 4 km away from Railway Station, Vidisha.

Cut into the sandstone hill, six km from Vidisha and 3 km from Sanchi are a group of rock-cut cave sanctuaries. . This archaeologically important site of antiquity is between the rivers Bes and Betwa. The site is mainly known for its ancient rock-cut temples excavated in an isolated stand stone hill and the numerous Buddhist remains in its neighbourhood. This isolated hill extends from North-West to South-East and is about a km. long, rising to a height of about 110m above the plain. Traces of some ancient buildings were also found here. These temples are known as Udaigiri. Some of these contain inscriptions, dated and undated, of considerable importance. The caves are mostly small chambers, enshrining idols or images of various dynasties carved into the rock of the hill. The caves and the other remains found at the site show that the site has passed through the influence of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism in those days. An inscription in one of these, states that it was produced during the reign of Chandragupta-II (382-401 AD), thus dating these caves to 4-5 AD

The caves possess all the distinctive features that gave Gupta art its unique vitality, vigour and richness of expression: the beautifully moulded capitals, the treatment of the intercolomination, the design of the entranceway and the system of continuing the architrave as a string-course round the structure.

They have been numbered probably according to the sequence in which they were excavated, beginning with Cave 1, which has a fontage adapted out of a natural ledge of rock, thus forming both the roof of the cella and its portico. The row of four pillars bear the 'vase and foliage' pattern, of which the eminent art historian, Percy Brown, so eloquently says: "the Gupta capital typifies a renewal of faith, the water nourishing a plant trailing from its brim, an allegory which has produced the vase and flower motif, one of the most graceful forms in Indian architecture."

Characterised by richly carved facades and doorways, the shrines are progressively more spacious and more ornate. Cave No. 9 is remarkable for its large cell and massive, 8 feet high pillars, its long portico and pillared hall. Throughout, there is evidence that master craftsmen of Besnagar practiced their art with skill and artistry under the Guptas, four centuries later. Cave No. 5 is awe-inspiring in the sheer magnificence of the vision of its builders: here, a massive carving depicts Vishnu, in his Varaha (Boar) incarnation, holding the Earth Goddess Prithvi aloft upon one tusk. Yet another stupendous sculpture is of the reclining Vishnu.

This Temple which was built in 11-th century A.D. was demolished in 1682 A.D. during the reign of Mughal King Aurangzeb and the mosque was erected on its site using the material of the temple. The mosque was known as Alamgiri Masjid.

From an inscription carved on one of the pillars of the original temple it is evident that the temple was sacred to goddess Charchika. This inscription also record the name of king Naravarman. Vijaya was probably another name of this goddess after whom the temple is called Vijayamandira.