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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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Navaratri 2010 - Day3

Thinking of what to write during the ten days of Navaratri is rather tough, considering that I see almost the same stuff every year - after all, everyone in my circle keep the same dolls and mostly the same arrangements, except a few, who make some changes...... This time, I have decided to look at individual items from Golus which I liked or found interesting, and highlight them, and hope that I dont keep repeating myself!

Here is the Golu from Shankar's aunt's place. An elderly lady, her enthusiasm is astounding. She manages to keep this huge Golu with scarcely any help from anyone, and in spite of all the exertion, her energy and excitement for every small detail is wonderful!


And here is what, to me, is the most interesting and unusual part of her arrangement -


She apparently found this in the US, and it always occupies this place on the side, where every single person notices it and comments on it! Last year, the pic I took didn't come out well, and so this time, I took a few extra shots, just to make sure I got it! Unusual isn't it? Not everyone would think of using this, and that too, this way!

For  a more detailed look at her dolls, you can see my last year's post here. 
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Comments

  1. SoulSpaceOctober 10, 2010 at 11:23 PM

    cool, whats it made of?

    ReplyDelete
  2. RajeshOctober 11, 2010 at 8:48 AM

    Decorations of Navaratri is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaOctober 11, 2010 at 1:41 PM

    I like the chillies and the garlic. So colorful. And it is a good idea to show individual items.

    ReplyDelete

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