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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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An unusual sight

We recently saw a sight in our building, which is common in Kerala, but rather unusual for this city. Shankar was the first to spot the man atop our coconut tree, and suggested that it was a good opportunity for some photos.... So here they are...... shots of a guy at ease atop a coconut tree, and his descent... without any aids except his hands and feet............

















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  1. AartiNovember 26, 2009 at 4:23 PM

    :)Oh i am always amazed watching them climb the tree with their bare hands and just that rope around their legs... amazing!!

    one guy comes home once every couple of mths to pull out all coconuts!! :)

    dint know they had it up North as well

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  2. Bhavesh ChhatbarNovember 26, 2009 at 5:06 PM

    Quite unusual in Mumbai! And did you notice, he did give you a look.

    About your query on my post Peacocks [Mor, मोर] of Morachi Chincholi [मोराची चिंचोली], I suggest the best place to stay is Pune only. It's just 50 kms. by road from Pune.

    ReplyDelete
  3. SoulSpaceNovember 27, 2009 at 8:21 PM

    how do i vote for yu?

    ReplyDelete
  4. SorcererNovember 29, 2009 at 7:22 PM

    cool!!

    i heard the contest for making a tree climbing robot is still on!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. MridulaNovember 30, 2009 at 6:03 PM

    Many congratulations on the nominations Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  6. IndraniDecember 1, 2009 at 8:35 AM

    Wow! Great captures.
    When I was small, i used to admire them for being so brave.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anuradha ShankarDecember 1, 2009 at 3:27 PM

    @ Aaarti: well, they do come by once in a while.... but they are difficult to get hold of them, esp since there are so few..... and in any case, our colony is more like a village amidst this busy city.....

    @ Bhavesh : yes, he did spot me, and was probably surprised to see someone taking pics!!
    thanks for the info...... have to go there sometime sooon.....

    @ Sorcerer : welcome to my blogs..... yes, i heard about it too......

    @ Mridula : thanks.... it was a great surprise.. as well as a great pleasure...

    @ Indrani : yes, me too.... never thought i would see one here...

    ReplyDelete

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