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Odisha Part 11: Discovering the Jaina Heritage of Odisha at the caves of Udaygiri and Khandgiri

The Hindu and Buddhist history of Odisha , or rather, ancient Kalinga, is rather well known to everyone. Who hasn’t heard of the grand temples of Odisha – Puri, Lingaraj and Konark, or the great war of Kalinga which inspired Ashoka to convert to Buddhism? In contrast, very few know of the Jaina heritage of this region. This is quite a pity, since, just around 7 km from the city, is one of India’s most ancient inscriptions, which throws light on the Jaina heritage of Odisha. This inscription is the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, in the hills of Udaygiri. Udaygiri and Khandgiri are two hills located opposite each other, and both are testaments to the rich Jaina heritage of Odisha. The caves at Udaygiri are older, while Khandgiri is relatively newer, but has lasted much longer, and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for Jains even today. These hills, from inscriptions and excavations of caves, shrines and rock beds, appear to have been a haven for Jaina monks, right from the ...
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Award time!


Thanks, AJCL, for the award! Like you, I too shall avoid the tag and simply accept the award.... just pass it on to others.... so here goes...

Bhavesh - your photographs bring a smile to my face everyday
Ssstoryteller - I look forward to the interesting things you come up with
Aarti - you make even the most normal things seem so interesting
Patricia - I just cant get enough of your wonderful decor ideas.... while I cant even imagine re-creating them!
Shilpa - i just loved your response to the last tag...so you get this one...

Comments

  1. ShilpaApril 13, 2010 at 12:18 PM

    Hey Anu thanks a ton.. this is my first blog award. I was having a bad day at office and you really cheered me up :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. IndraniApril 13, 2010 at 1:06 PM

    CONGRATULATIONS to all winners!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SoulSpaceApril 13, 2010 at 3:24 PM

    hey Thanks
    and send it right back to yu

    ReplyDelete
  4. chitraApril 13, 2010 at 8:35 PM

    Anu,
    congrats!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AartiApril 15, 2010 at 5:28 PM

    Awwww... Thats so sweet! Thanks lady :))

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bhavesh ChhatbarApril 19, 2010 at 2:08 PM

    Hi Anu,

    So sorry for being so late on this one, but I have now published the award on Beautiful Blogger Award. Thanks so much, Anu! :)

    ReplyDelete

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