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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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Sky Watch Friday... Sun and Moon

I was looking through some of my older photos and found this one that I had somehow missed posting...... We were on our way to Morachi Chincholi and all of us were stunned to see this wonderful sight before us.... the sun setting over the hills and the moon rising.... This pic was taken at a point where we could see both of them together... 



For more skies around the world, go to Sky Watch Friday

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Comments

  1. LakshmiAugust 20, 2010 at 7:06 AM

    nature is amazing isnt it..we just dont pay attention to it ..wonderful sighting

    ReplyDelete
  2. meghanaAugust 20, 2010 at 11:22 AM

    Thats my native place.NIce to see this picture.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaAugust 20, 2010 at 5:17 PM

    Lovely picture Anu. If I was posting it I would crop out the black part but maybe you left it for the effect?

    ReplyDelete
  4. TracyAugust 21, 2010 at 5:54 PM

    Beautiful picture, I love it when the moon is up in daylight!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bhavesh ChhatbarAugust 23, 2010 at 4:45 PM

    What a rare one, indeed! I'm so happy that you posted this; reminded me of the moon and sun in one photo when I was in Matheran.

    ReplyDelete
  6. IndraniAugust 23, 2010 at 5:23 PM

    Yes, a beautiful sight. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. UshaAugust 23, 2010 at 6:11 PM

    surreal!

    ReplyDelete

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