Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh has a deep connection with Bhagwan Ram. Bhagwan Ram spent his exile period roaming in the forests and hills. Chitrakoot has a different religious significance due to Bhagwan Ram. Many things from Bhagwan Ram’s time are present here. The mountains, caves, and rivers here have significance from ancient times until now. Although many ancient things are getting destroyed due to lack of maintenance, rock paintings and other things related to that period are still found here.
Rock paintings found in the forests of Patha
Now, rock paintings are being found continuously around Manikpur in the Chitrakoot district; these rock paintings depict a sense of collectivity. Along with this, they completely match the rock paintings of the Palaeolithic period found in the Vindhya Valley. Rock paintings have also been found in Sarahat of Chitrakoot earlier, but archaeology lover Anuj Hanuman and his colleagues have discovered many new and large panels of rock paintings around this site. The conclusions drawn by the Archaeological Department and historians till now point to these rock paintings pointing towards the Palaeolithic period.
The valley of Manikpur and the Belan valley of Allahabad are also similar geographically. Therefore, it cannot be denied that the Palaeolithic culture would not have flourished in Chitrakoot. Although this is a subject of research, the markings and collectivity of the rock paintings indicate the existence of the Palaeolithic culture here.
In all the rock paintings of the Palaeolithic period that have been certified so far, people can be seen in groups. In these rock paintings, people used to express their emotions by hunting, displaying domestic animals, walking in search of food, etc. Many rock paintings related to war have also been found on the walls of Chitrakoot. The way rock paintings related to different scenes, one after the other, are found in Chitrakoot is interesting in itself.
Bhagwan Ram spent eleven and a half years of his exile period with Sita and Lakshman in Chitrakoot, which is why evidence of this is also found here in many places. The negligence of the responsible people and their indifference towards their heritage are taking a toll on them. These remains are scattered in the circumambulation of 84 km, which must be preserved.
