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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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Something new here... Please give your suggestions..

Hi everyone, did you notice the new page on my blog? Entitled "My Travel Maps', it is just a trial - an attempt - at making my travel entries easier to find. At present, I have started off with just some of my temple blogs, and have embedded the links into the locations on the map. Google Maps being interactive, it allows you to pan over the entire map and look for locations you are interested in. When you click on the locations I have marked with a pin, it will direct you to my blog entries about that location.

Please try it out and let me know what you think. Please do try it out and leave your suggestions so that I can make the appropriate changes. If it isnt convenient, please let me know that too!

As I mentioned earlier, this is just a trial... If it is convenient, I plan to do the same thing for not just the temples, but also all the other places I have written about.

Eagerly looking forward to your reactions....

Comments

  1. AswathiBabuDecember 8, 2010 at 9:40 AM

    Anu
    I liked it. very informative and easily accessible
    all the best for your innovative step

    ReplyDelete
  2. TeamgsquareDecember 8, 2010 at 9:46 AM

    That's a really great effort .

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaDecember 8, 2010 at 11:30 AM

    I am quite scared of maps, they seem to be such a difficult puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AartiDecember 8, 2010 at 1:50 PM

    Thats a cool thing... just saw, am also gonna try :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. VidyaDecember 8, 2010 at 2:54 PM

    A super cool idea Anu. This will turn out to be a handy utility for people wanting information.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aravind GJDecember 8, 2010 at 5:51 PM

    Good initiative.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SridharanDecember 9, 2010 at 6:58 AM

    Way to go Anu.Good job..!
    It should really be useful and looks good.In fact Geo-tags are intended for such applications. I experimented with it for my photos and videos long time back and with good effect. Hope , will find time to do it in my blog too sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  8. rajkDecember 9, 2010 at 9:07 AM

    Hi Anu, came here through Ashok Banker's site. I'm a fan of his work too.
    YOu have a pretty neat blog here yourself. I've added you to my blogroll. Will comment on the map later.
    Good going!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anuradha ShankarDecember 9, 2010 at 10:00 AM

    Thanks everyone... glad that this idea seems to be liked by almost everyone! Shall update it soon!

    @Mridula: I absolutely love maps! have done since a long time...

    @Aarti: try it out... its fun to do, actually!!

    @Sridharan: I didnt even know of Google maps till some time back... and was rather wary of online maps anyway.... have you put those up on your blog? shall see them!

    @Rajk: great to see you here! Look forward to seeing you more often..

    ReplyDelete
  10. RajeshDecember 9, 2010 at 10:38 AM

    Excellent.
    I would like to attempt something similar.

    ReplyDelete
  11. ArtiDecember 9, 2010 at 9:02 PM

    This is great... Since my internet connection is slow, it took long to load the whole thing but in the end it was a good experience!!
    I give it my thumbs up:)
    You have done a fabulous job!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. JAGDISH BALIDecember 9, 2010 at 9:09 PM

    GooooooooooooooooD one and imrovising.pl visit my blog and follow.

    ReplyDelete
  13. chitraDecember 11, 2010 at 8:48 AM

    I have also put most of my picasa album on the map Anu. I think it would help.

    ReplyDelete
  14. UshaDecember 12, 2010 at 7:57 PM

    Excellent idea and a very cool Google tool! Have you incorporated this on your Tirupati posts too?

    ReplyDelete

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