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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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Termite hills / Termite mounds

There is something fascinating about termite hills or termite mounds, (ant hills as we usually call them).  You don't agree? Well, most of my family doesn't either, except Samhith of course! He has the same fascination for these huge settlements built with nothing but mud, and stops every time he sees one!

Tirupati abounds in these termite hills - the Lord himself is said to have appeared in one, so undoubtedly there is something special about them!

Well, we have seen many ant hills, some small, some even bigger than me.... See this one we photographed in the Zoo... Its about 5 feet high!



We have often wondered what it would be like, inside this hill. It is believed that snakes live there too.... whether before or after the termites, I am not sure..... However, this time, the zoo not just gave us the opportunity to see some caged wild animals, but also some un-caged ones, among which were some termites - the hill had broken, probably thanks to some careless tourists - but we were able to see inside it as the termites swarmed all over! While I waved Samhith away and asked him to watch from afar, my mom wondered what attraction the repulsive creatures had for me..... as to my sister, you should have seen the expression on her face when I showed her these pics.... Now, tell me what you think about them!




To know more about termites, click on the following links.

http://www.termite-pictures.com/index.html


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite


http://hubpages.com/hub/Termites
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Comments

  1. SoulSpaceDecember 31, 2010 at 8:52 AM

    wow wonderful pics
    you should get a job with National geographic!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. MridulaDecember 31, 2010 at 10:01 AM

    Lovely, the pictures are lovely Anu! Hope your sister reads your post :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. MridulaDecember 31, 2010 at 10:18 AM

    Lovely, the pictures are lovely Anu! Hope your sister reads your post :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. ArtiJanuary 1, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    Beautiful images... Looks a whole kingdom!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. subu.psJanuary 1, 2011 at 7:47 PM

    This world is full of innovative creatures!! Termite hill of 5ft!!! Lots of hard work by these tiny creatures with absolutely zero tool support. These structures are quite strong too. Infact the early day homes of Kerala had the same kind of walls (mud walls).
    Happy new year to you and your family !!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. TeamgsquareJanuary 2, 2011 at 2:12 PM

    nice photos and good info..

    ReplyDelete
  7. AartiJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:37 PM

    ha ha.. Samhith sounds like me- filled with curiousity :)))

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anuradha ShankarJanuary 4, 2011 at 11:07 PM

    @ssstoryteller: thanks so much, sowmya.. your comments brighten up my day!! now, if only the NatGeo people would think like you :)

    @Mridula: thanks.. usually she does, but she's really busy now, so should remind her to take a look!

    @Arti: thanks.....it is indeed an entire kingdom!

    @subu.ps: so true! i read somewhere that forts were inspired by such anthills...

    @Team G square: thanks...

    @Aarti: oh he is!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. SandipanSeptember 9, 2011 at 12:56 PM

    Very interesting information. I simply loved your post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anu ShankarSeptember 9, 2011 at 9:14 PM

    Thanks a lot, Sandipan!

    ReplyDelete

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