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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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Indian Robin

I am recuperating from the flu, and while I slowly get back to writing long, detailed posts, I shall be posting images from my latest trips.... considering the dearth of birds on my blog lately, here is one I see quite often, but havent managed many photos of... the Indian Robin



I clicked this one at Jaipur, where I had a lot of time to simply sit and look at birds... and photograph them, of course!!


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Comments

  1. P.N. SubramanianJuly 12, 2012 at 1:24 PM

    Looks majestic. Nice photograph.

    ReplyDelete
  2. R Niranjan DasJuly 12, 2012 at 1:33 PM

    Nice shot, Anu. Get well soon.

    http://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in/2012/07/nh-17.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. AswathiBabuJuly 12, 2012 at 1:59 PM

    Anu thanks for sharing...

    ReplyDelete
  4. NishaJuly 12, 2012 at 2:02 PM

    Awww get well soon dear. We spoke today and you didn't tell me this. :(

    Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarJuly 12, 2012 at 2:27 PM

      Thanks Nisha! been sick almost the whole week.... just getting better. and we spoke for too short a time.... there were more interesting things to talk about :D

      Delete
  5. MridulaJuly 12, 2012 at 2:11 PM

    Take care Anu and get well soon.

    ReplyDelete
  6. LocomenteJuly 12, 2012 at 5:45 PM

    Nicely captured...
    Get well soon..

    Hey...
    I have tagged you in a contest...
    Plz go through the link..

    http://locomente.blogspot.in/2012/07/tagged.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. ArtiJuly 13, 2012 at 10:44 AM

    Very beautiful picture Anu, I too love watching birds but am not this good in capturing them! Take good care, and get to blogging in full force soon! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Shyam Govind - International SEO expertJuly 16, 2012 at 12:21 PM

    Nice shot. And hey, get well soon, Anu ! Take care. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. shubhalaxmi khot vaidyaNovember 22, 2012 at 7:40 PM

    Brilliant shot anu!!!! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

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