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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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Khajuraho - The Unexpected

Khajuraho. The very name conjures up exotic images of erotic art on temple walls. However, there is so much more to Khajuraho than just the erotic, or even just temples. Last December, Samhith and I spent three days at Khajuraho, exploring as much of the ancient town as we could, and over the next few weeks, I shall try to show you the Khajuraho that we saw, beginning with this photo clicked at the Kandariya Mahadev Temple.



The Kandariya Mahadev is one of the most impressive temples at Khajuraho, and it’s the details which make it so impressive. This particular figure is of Agni, the God of Fire. Here, though, he is one of the Ashta-Dikpalas, the guardians of the 8 directions. Agni guards the South-East, and it’s his placement on the South East wall of the temple, which allows us to identify him here. Notice the finer details, such as his beard….



These photos are among my favourites; among the hundreds I clicked at Khajuraho, thanks to this female Plum-Headed Parakeet which chose Agni to be her perch!

Her mate was nearby, perched on one of the smaller Shikaras….




And they patiently posed for me as I went click-happy; thrilled by the sight of birds on a temple, a combination I am always thrilled to see!

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Comments

  1. BIGBIGBANGOctober 14, 2016 at 7:21 PM

    Lovely pics.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SudhageeNovember 23, 2016 at 10:29 AM

    I usually wait for the birds to fly away before taking pictures. :P

    But this time at the Rani ji ki Baori in Bundi there was a flock of pigeons who refused to fly away and all my pictures of the Baori are with them in the frame.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarNovember 23, 2016 at 10:41 AM

      And I look for birds to photograph! no matter where they are!

      looking forward to your pics of the Bundi! esp with the pigeons now!

      Delete
  3. Anuradha ShankarNovember 23, 2016 at 10:40 AM

    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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