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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 - Sunset between the trees

I took this photograph more than 2 years ago, on a trip to our home town....Before any of you think its a normal thing, well, for us, it isn't! It is our 'home-town' only in name, for we have no 'home' there..... we just go there (or rather try to go there) at least once a year to visit the temple there...... As it happens, I haven't visited the temple since then, but have a real yearning to visit again, which has only intensified after seeing this pic, which was taken just after we left the temple... It was a wonderful trip, which we made as a family, visiting almost 75 temples in just 10 days!!! Wish I could make another such trip again!!!




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Comments

  1. MridulaJune 11, 2010 at 3:27 PM

    A very beautiful sunset indeed. Hope you go to the temples again. Have you seen the Rajasthan Jain temples?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anuradha ShankarJune 11, 2010 at 3:29 PM

    @Mridula: I hope so too...wanted to go this may, but ended up staying at home...
    I have visited only the temples at Ranakpur... they were beautiful! have to go to Mt.Abu sometime....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lavanya SriramJune 11, 2010 at 4:56 PM

    Beautiful :) as usual :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. indicaspeciesJune 11, 2010 at 6:15 PM

    Beautiful shot!

    The tall trees are Palmyra palms....called Tadgola in Gujarati (maybe in Marathi too).

    ReplyDelete
  5. Larry DJune 11, 2010 at 6:31 PM

    Wonderful photo, this looks like an amazing place to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ma.linksJune 13, 2010 at 5:25 PM

    Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJune 15, 2010 at 8:48 PM

    Beautiful picture,Anu.
    Padma.

    ReplyDelete

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