Ramgarh Hills

The Ramgarh hills rise in the Surguja country of northern Chhattisgarh. Among their rock shelters are the ancient Sitabenga and Jogimara caves, reached through a natural passage known as Hathipol. Inscriptions in Prakrit and Brahmi letters and traces of painting survive in the caves. The arrangement of rock-cut benches at Sitabenga has suggested to scholars that poetry or performances may once have been presented there. Local tradition also associates the hills with Rama and Sita’s exile.