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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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More Temples at Pattadakal

The World Heritage Site of Pattadakal deserves more than just a cursory glance. There is so much to see and appreciate, and even during our short visit to the place, I clicked so many photos that I found it impossible to put all of them together in one post! Here are my first two posts on the temple complex at Pattadakal -

Continuing with our walk through the temple complex, we next arrived at the Chandrashekhara Temple. The plain and simple structure is the one which attracts least number of visitors, and consequently, is empty and easy to photograph!



The next temple is a striking one, the first here with the dravida vimana, the southern type of temple spire.



This is the Sangameshwara Temple, originally known as the Vijayeshwara temple, since it was built by the Chalukya king, Vijayaditya.





Look at the intricate lattices on the walls! No pattern is repeated! Some of the niches are empty, while some have figures of different forms of Shiva as well as Vishnu.Unfortunately, some of the niches are also empty, and some of the figures are incomplete. 

Detail of the vimana

The saga of incomplete work is evident all over this temple. Such as these on the base platform. It shows us how the artisans would have begun their work, and also tells us that the work was abandoned due to some reason. 

Another incomplete set of work
Outside this temple was a broken pillar, set at a lower level, in a depression. I wondered if it was a dhwajasthambam or temple pillar, but our guide wasn't able to shed much light on it.

Samhith standing next to the broken pillar...
he is about 4 ft tall, so that depression is at least 3 ft in depth!

Detail at the bottom of the pillar
Considering the rate at which I am going, I wonder when I am going to finish this series, but I can't help wanting to post almost every single photo I have taken! 

Coming up next: Some of the most beautiful temples at Pattadakal!


Pattadakal  Quick Facts
Getting there:
Nearest Airport: Hubli (about  120 Km )
Nearest Railway Station: Badami (29 Km)
Pattadakal is well connected by road to Badami (29 Km) and Aihole (24 Km).
Where to stay: There is practically no accommodation available at Pattadakal. The nearest city is Badami, where the KSRTC Mayura Chalukya is the best option. There are also other hotels and lodges in Badami. 

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Comments

  1. Mridula DNovember 30, 2011 at 4:14 PM

    Another lovely set of images Anu! 

    ReplyDelete
  2. Team G SquareNovember 30, 2011 at 6:11 PM

    Wonderfully captured  .

    ReplyDelete
  3. R.RamakrishnanNovember 30, 2011 at 8:50 PM

    Superb & informative post. Once again enjoyed the virtual photo tour.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RajeshNovember 30, 2011 at 11:33 PM

    Excellent images and information.

    ReplyDelete
  5. PN SubramanianDecember 1, 2011 at 11:30 AM

    Very informative.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anu ShankarDecember 2, 2011 at 9:55 AM

    Thanks, Mridula!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anu ShankarDecember 2, 2011 at 9:55 AM

    Thanks TGS!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anu ShankarDecember 2, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    Thanks a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anu ShankarDecember 2, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    Thanks Rajesh!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anu ShankarDecember 2, 2011 at 9:58 AM

    Thanks PNS!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Phe57December 5, 2011 at 1:00 AM

    Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anu ShankarDecember 9, 2011 at 1:49 PM

    Thanks so much!

    ReplyDelete
  13. ashokDecember 17, 2011 at 11:09 PM

    Nice photos...great blog! keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anu ShankarDecember 25, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    Thanks a lot, Ashok!

    ReplyDelete
  15. SriMarch 15, 2012 at 4:57 PM

    Nice blog about Pattadakal, great Pictures :-) keep it up,
    Also I read information about pattadakal at site:
    http://www.ijaunt.com/karnataka/pattadkal,

    ReplyDelete
  16. GoluDecember 9, 2019 at 12:29 PM

    Nice post.. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete

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