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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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Birds of Tadoba - Changeable Hawk Eagle

We first saw a Changeable Hawk Eagle while driving to Mysore from Wayanad. Since then, we have seen the bird often, but never managed to get as good a click as the first time. Then, at Tadoba, as we criss-crossed our way across the forest in search of the tiger, we saw these birds often, either near ponds or just by the side of the road.





It was easy to identify them, thanks to their trademark crest, but each sighting was just as fascinating as the first. It was even more so, to see how the bird sat perfectly still, yet moved its head and eyes, almost like a dancer, taking in its surroundings, keeping watch, for dangers as well as prey.












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  1. UnknownOctober 5, 2015 at 1:48 PM

    These pictures are amazing! Beautiful framing and great shot!

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  2. R Niranjan DasOctober 5, 2015 at 3:04 PM

    Nice captures.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Saachi AgarwalOctober 23, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    Spellbound! Great pictures depicting the minutest details of the bird. Thanks to your beautiful capture that I got an opportunity to see how a hawk eagle looks like. I hope if I ever get a chance to visit Tadoba, I can also get a glimpse of this beautiful bird.

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