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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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Lollipop Plant!!!


Yes, that's one of the names this plant is known by. The other common name for it is 'Golden Shrimp Plant' and its quite obvious where it gets its names from.





Interestingly, it is the white ear-like structures which are the flowers, and the golden coloured ones are bracts! And yet, the white flowers might go unnoticed among the bright yellow bracts!



We saw these flowers while visiting the Jain Temple at Sultan Bathery in Wayanad, and they added a touch of colour to the place!



Special thanks to Flowers on the net for helping me identify the flowers, and all the details! 
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Comments

  1. MridulaSeptember 30, 2013 at 10:43 AM

    And I don't know why they have always reminded me of Asterix and his headgear!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarOctober 4, 2013 at 1:57 PM

      Thats interesting Mridula. Never thought of that!!

      Delete
  2. Ajay KumarSeptember 30, 2013 at 5:04 PM

    Funny! the flowers indeed beautiful..

    ReplyDelete
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  5. P.N. SubramanianOctober 5, 2013 at 11:45 AM

    Indeed they look very attractive.

    ReplyDelete

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