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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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Finding beauty in unexpected places...

October is over and November is here. Before I know it, the year will be over! And I am nowhere near catching up with all the posts I have to write. October brought in so much travel, from the unexpected Club Mahindra Bloggers Meet to another unexpected Diwali trip to Sringeri. There is so much I want to write, but the words will take some time to come. Meanwhile, I just realised that the blog has been left alone for too long without a post, so I will be posting some random images from my trips.....

We were on our way to Nainital, when we stopped to take pics of the wonderful view of the hills and valleys. But as we clicked and posed for others, these weeds by the roadside caught my eye. 



They are just weeds - unwanted and un-cared for. Yet, they grow profusely wherever they get the chance! If we see them in our garden, we pluck them and throw them off, but look closer and see the innate beauty, the perfect geometrical shapes. Remember drawing flowers with a compass in school? Doesnt this remind you of that? And yet, this is so much more beautiful, for it is  small - the diameter would be less than a centimeter - and besides, it is alive! 

Comments

  1. Julia DuttaNovember 3, 2011 at 2:16 PM

    Are these not called Dandy Lions Anu?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mridula DNovember 3, 2011 at 9:00 PM

    I think Dandelions too is the name? 

    ReplyDelete
  3. PN SubramanianNovember 4, 2011 at 10:55 AM

    Superb! Like son the mom or is it the other way round. I admire the inquisitiveness.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ZephyrNovember 4, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    loved the last line: it is indeed alive!! It is beautiful Anu.

    Can I ask you a favour? The font is fine in the post but really small in the comment form. Could you pl. increase it? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:10 PM

    No idea, Julia... i wondered if they were dandelions.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:11 PM

    maybe, Mridula! thinking of adding to the write up with some interesting stuff about dandelions!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:11 PM

    THanks! there is a whole lot of inquisitiveness around, both for mom and son!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anu ShankarNovember 5, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    THanks so much! and thanks for pointing out abt the font.. will increase it!

    ReplyDelete
  9. KanthiNovember 7, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    New way of thinking about these so called unwanted part of our gardens! Doesn't this post apply to our daily lives!!!! Food for thought

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anu ShankarNovember 7, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Thanks kanthi!

    ReplyDelete
  11. SudhageeNovember 14, 2011 at 9:30 PM

    Sometimes we need weeds and thorns to appreciate the ones that please the senses, don't we? And sometimes we need to see the neglected for what they are.

    Lovely post, Anu.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anu ShankarNovember 14, 2011 at 9:42 PM

    Absolutely, Sudha!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Boat Tour DubaiMay 18, 2019 at 1:55 PM

    appreciate your post ,thanks for sharing a nice post

    ReplyDelete

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