Discover Sasaram

Sasaram draws attention to very different traces: red rock paintings featuring a detailed hunting scene, a cave with an inscription and statues, and a tomb in the middle of an artificial lake. These specific features make the place interesting for travellers who want to explore culture through figures, images and spatial arrangements.

Rock paintings with different motifs

In the Barahmasiya rock shelter, red rock paintings show ten large, ancient human figures standing with their arms outstretched. Above them is a hunting scene: a man hunts a dark-red deer with a bow and arrow, accompanied by a dog. The figures and the action offer various details to focus on. If you are travelling with children, you could look at the scene together and identify who is hunting, which animal is depicted and what role the dog plays.

On the wall of the large rock shelter in the Ghorghat Valley near Sasaram, small figures depict a group of people walking forward. In front of them is a depiction of an animal with a visible skeleton. Compared with the Barahmasiya motif, the group and the animal image take centre stage here, while the large figures and the hunt define the other scene.

Cave, inscription and statues

Maa Tara is located in a natural cave in the Kaimur Hill of the Vindhya mountain range. Beside the Maa Tara statue is a large inscription commissioned by King Mahanayak Pratap Dhavaldev of the Kharwar dynasty in the 12th century and written by his son Shatrudhan. At Maa Tara, the cave setting and an inscription giving specific details about its patron and scribe thus come together.

The Maa Tara temple complex houses statues of Maa Tara and Surya. Outside is a fragmentary statue of Agni. All three are attributed to the late Gupta period or a later phase. A miniature inscription commissioned by Emperor Ashoka is also located on Aashiqpur Hill (Chandan Shaheed) near Sasaram. These inscriptions and statues each add their own emphasis alongside the rock depictions.

The Sher Shah Suri Tomb in the lake

The Sher Shah Suri Tomb stands in the middle of an artificial, almost square lake. At the centre of the lake, it rests on a square stone plinth. Covered kiosks and chhatris stand at each corner; stone banks and stepped landing places surround the plinth. A wide stone bridge connects it to the mainland.

The layout makes the structure’s geometry its defining feature: the almost square lake, the square plinth and the corner buildings combine to create an interplay of setting and architecture. For travellers who enjoy exploring spatial design, this ensemble offers a different focus from the figurative scenes in the rock shelters or the inscriptions at Maa Tara.

When choosing a holiday rental in Sasaram, you can therefore start with your own travel interests: are you most interested in the rock art, the cave and inscription motifs, or the layout of the Sher Shah Suri Tomb?

Discover more destinations: Lagma, Patna, Harnatand, Katra, Forbesganj, Banka, Naugachia.

Back to the regional travel overview: Bihar.