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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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Feathered Friends

There is one tree in our colony which is the meeting point of the birds. It stands on the edge of our common ground, giving a view of the temple, and a whole square filled with buildings. I have often wondered what it is that draws birds to this tree.... but recently, my thoughts have taken a different direction. I often see groups of birds perched on a particular branch of this tree.....

A couple of weeks back, there were these three Coppersmith barbets....





and then these Red Vented Bulbuls....



Then there were these bulbuls cosying up to each other (this was during the cold wave recently)...



and then a couple of days back, a Coppersmith and a Bulbul, which sat there for almost an hour!



So now I am wondering.... are these bulbuls and coppersmiths becoming friends, hanging out as they are, on the same branch?

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Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 29, 2013 at 6:30 PM

    Its beautiful Anuradha...Great concept & ofcourse lovely clicks...

    http://journeyintrance.blogspot.in/

    ReplyDelete
  2. R Niranjan DasJanuary 29, 2013 at 11:28 PM

    Nice clicks!

    www.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaJanuary 30, 2013 at 10:07 AM

    Anu what beautiful captures. I have now seen a few barbets in the tree in front of my home but no clicks as of now!

    ReplyDelete

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