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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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SkyWatch Friday - Sunlight


I took this pic when we were returning from Morachi Chincholi... I think we were somewhere on the expressway.... and I remember wishing for dark clouds and some rain, but all we could see was the sun!

For more skies around the world, go to SkyWatch Friday


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Comments

  1. MridulaJuly 23, 2010 at 8:23 PM

    The sky still looks quite dramatic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJuly 23, 2010 at 10:34 PM

    what awesome skies..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sankara Subramanian CJuly 24, 2010 at 12:22 AM

    Love the varied cloud formations and their shades...

    ReplyDelete
  4. SteffiJuly 24, 2010 at 12:23 AM

    Wow...stunning photo!Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Light and VoicesJuly 24, 2010 at 5:59 AM

    Nice post for skywatch Friday post.
    Joyce M

    ReplyDelete
  6. stanJuly 24, 2010 at 6:16 AM

    The gathering clouds look like they r ready for an invasion of sorts. lol

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownJuly 24, 2010 at 6:36 AM

    Heavenly!
    The only word for that sky!

    ReplyDelete
  8. P.N. SubramanianJuly 24, 2010 at 7:37 PM

    A beautiful view. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  9. IndraniJuly 25, 2010 at 11:40 AM

    Nice silvery cloud patterns Anu.
    Beautiful capture.

    ReplyDelete
  10. chitraJuly 26, 2010 at 9:57 AM

    Sun peeping through clouds,silhoutted mountain and blue background...really nice.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anuradha ShankarJuly 27, 2010 at 10:57 AM

    @Mridula: yes, it does..... I loved the sun peeping from between the clouds...

    @Patty: thanks...

    @Sankara : thanks.....

    @Steffi: thanks! I just had a look at your blog, and you took me back to the days when I loved to stitch and used my mom's old sarees to practice stitching clothes for myself!!!

    @Light and Voices: thanks a lot! loved your clouds too... thats how the sky looks like here today!

    @Stan: what a way to describe the clouds!! LOL!

    @Joy: thanks so much!

    @P.N.Subramanian: thanks....

    @Indrani: thanks... yes.. the silver lining does come out, doesnt it??

    @Chitra: thanks.....

    ReplyDelete

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