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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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Ganesha on Facebook

As I do every year, this year too, I will take you along with me as I visit Ganeshas in and around my locality. I start the series today with our favourite Ganesha at the moment. This Ganesha has been installed in our neighbouring building, and Samhith went over to take a look as soon as it arrived. He came back all agog at the theme.....





The Facebook idea seemed to strike a chord with him! For the first time, he grasped the idea of a 'theme'. He dragged me to see the Ganesha, and actually spent a long time looking at all the small details. He especially liked the idea of cutting the poster to make space for placing the idol! Considering that he now knows how to chat with his aunts and uncles on Facebook (of course, he is only allowed when I am around!), he was also excited to see who who was 'online'.... the only thing he didnt understand was the 'poke'! "Why would anyone want to poke anyone? And would anyone like it if they were poked?" was his question... Any answers????


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Comments

  1. Indrani GhoseSeptember 3, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    That is a great idea well executed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. aJSeptember 3, 2011 at 7:12 PM

    Hehe... that question bowled me out :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anu ShankarSeptember 4, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    Yes, Indrani! we loved it and told the organisers too!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anu ShankarSeptember 4, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Yes, Aakash! it bowled me over too! kids come up with most interesting questions!

    ReplyDelete

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