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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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Faces in the Crowd : Two strangers at Amritsar


For Faces in the crowd today, I have two strangers.... two people I clicked at the Golden temple, Amritsar....



The first is obviously a visitor, a pilgrim. He looks so happy, at peace... His object is fulfilled. He has had darshan of the holy book., he has got the divine blessing - the prasad....


The second is more alert. He is obviously an employee of the Temple. He is at work, doing his duty, spear in hand. It doesn't matter that in these days of modern weaponry, his spear will be of no use in a gun battle. All that matters is that he is carrying the sacred tradition of protecting the sacred space, in the manner it has been done for years. 

There is no fear of what may come. This is the one of the few places where no security check is conducted on visitors. We are free to carry anything inside. Even a camera. As I enter the sanctum, an employee notices my camera, and says, "beta, mandir ke andar photo mat nikalna" (child, please don't take a photo inside the sanctum). He doesn't even wait for my assent before turning away to the next pilgrim. Such is the nature of faith and belief. 

These two photos, of two different people represents that same faith and belief, which shows in the happiness of one and the calmness of the other. 

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Comments

  1. AartiJanuary 31, 2013 at 11:04 AM

    Love how they ooze with confidence and pride when they walk... Amritsar- hopefully this year, last year planned in nov and had to cancel :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarFebruary 1, 2013 at 2:31 PM

      Yes, Aarti! Its so nice to simply sit there and watch all the people there... hope you can go this year.. its a beautiful place

      Delete
  2. MridulaJanuary 31, 2013 at 1:18 PM

    Lovely, will wait to see more in this series!

    ReplyDelete
  3. desi TravelerJanuary 31, 2013 at 3:01 PM

    Hi Anu... you have clicked interpreted the two pictures beautifully.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Manu PonnappaJanuary 31, 2013 at 5:00 PM

    Interpretation is really good!!!! Nice observation...

    MANUPONNAPPA.BLOGSPOT.IN

    ReplyDelete
  5. NishaFebruary 3, 2013 at 3:41 PM

    I loved your interpretations about these two pictures which we normally don't even bother to look at. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarFebruary 4, 2013 at 8:44 AM

      Thanks, Nisha! I actually spent a lot of time just sitting there and looking at people come and go.. i had been there before as a kid, and was trying to remember what it had been like then... and since photography was allowed, went on clicking too :D

      Delete
  6. AkankshaMay 29, 2017 at 5:37 PM

    Waoo we are so busy that we don't even notice such things in regular life.. Real good interpretation.

    ReplyDelete

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