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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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Purple Rumped Sunbird

This is one bird I see every single day, but has proved the most difficult to photograph. They are so small and flit endlessly between the flowers and leaves on the tree that I can hardly focus before they are lost. I noticed this one a couple of days back, for once sitting peacefully.... and wondered if it was the same.
Thankfully my camera was near and I managed to get a couple of shots before it flew away... Here are my only pics of the elusive Purple Rumped Sunbird...



I know the photo isn't all that great... another reminder for me to upgrade my camera soon :)

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Comments

  1. Hossain Al WasiNovember 27, 2012 at 11:34 AM

    Ma'am, your blog is awesome! I'm pretty hooked up.
    I'm from Bangladesh, and I find a lot of birds common. For some days, I've been trying to capture some local birds, but as you said, the sunbirds and the tailor-birds are so fast and restless...
    Nevertheless, I managed to capture some photos. If you want, you may use these in your blog.
    You can find the photos in my flickr photostream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hossainalwasi/
    Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarNovember 27, 2012 at 12:16 PM

      Thank you so much, Hossain!! welcome to my blog! I just went to your flickr page, and wow! you have managed some awesome captures! keep going and all the best!

      Delete

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