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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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Waders (and other birds) somewhere near Mysore

Looking at the photos of the birds I clicked during my recent Dandeli trip, I have been remembering all the birds we saw near Mysore during our vacation in May.... which reminded me that I had yet not completed that series. On that note, here is another one.. this one about some birds we saw in a marshy area just outside the city...



It was the Oriental White Ibis, or the Black Headed Ibis which first drew our attention and got us to stop in the first place. A closer look revealed that there were many waders around. Even among the ibis, we spotted this one, which I think is a juvenile...


This Grey Heron stood tall by the water, posing beautifully for us! 



 Pond Herons are a common sight for us, but still, it was impossible not to click this one as it stood prettily among the lily pads.


Among all these waders sat a lone Brahminy Kite......


A little farther were a few more interesting birds....

 

A flock of Black Ibis..



And among them, a flock of Purple Moorhen too...




Our tryst with birds during the summer vacation began with these birds just outside Mysore, and continued for the next week as we saw birds wherever we went - especially Kukkarahalli Kere and Karanji Lake. But the most spectacular sight was at the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - an experience I have yet to write about. So, stay tuned, and you can look forward to loads more birds on the blog...
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  1. R Niranjan DasJanuary 15, 2014 at 11:41 AM

    That is a whole lot of colourful birds. Nice captures.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete

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