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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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Bal Ganesh

Here is another Ganesha from Chedda Nagar - and Samhith's favourite so far....

The idol is a replica of Ganesha as he appears in the animated movie for kids - Bal Ganesh. Not surprisingly, I wasn't able to identify the character, while Samhith did. We had to ask the organisers for confirmation, which resulted in a lot of amusement for all of them, but was worthwhile, since Samhith is thrilled that he was correct!


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  1. VidyaSeptember 16, 2010 at 2:24 PM

    Kids somehow have that extra eye of details! This Ganesha looks very nice!

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  2. MridulaSeptember 16, 2010 at 8:08 PM

    I can almost imagine Samhith's face all joy that he knew whereas mom didn't!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2010 at 9:53 PM

    Oh lovely... This is super cute!! I can see Samhiths excitement.. at knowing something more than you.. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. UshaSeptember 17, 2010 at 3:02 PM

    I agree with Mridula. Can so imagine Samhith glee and expression at knowing more than you :D but Anu, I'm suprised you didn't place it. Those animated Ganesha toys and stuff are all over the place. How come Samhith doesn't have one?

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