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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 Sunbird

We have plenty of Purple Rumped Sunbirds visiting our home, but the Purple Sunbird is rare. On our very first day at Mount Abu, as we waited in the garden while our room was being readied, these birds kept us engaged and happy. Sitting on the swing, seeing these birds flutter among the flowers was a wonderful beginning to our unplanned holiday.....








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  1. BattlefieldMarch 12, 2012 at 6:01 PM

    beautiful pictures..
    It is exactly opposite in gandhinagar. Many purple sunbird but few purple rumped sunbirds.

    ReplyDelete

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