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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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Gajanur Dam

Having had our fill of the Bhadra Reservoir , it was time to see the Tunga River in all her glory.
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Shivappa Nayaka Palace, Shimoga

As Diwali approaches, I have been re-living our trip last Diwali to Karnataka. We started on a devotional note, visiting  Sringeri ,  Udupi  and  Kollur . But that did not stop us having  unexpected surprises  which had nothing to do with temples, as well as  adventures that we had not planned for . We eventually reached our final destination -  River Tern Lodge  at the Bhadra Reservoir, and after two wonderful days there, headed back home to Mumbai. However, before we called an end to our travels, we still had something to see.... The bus stand at Shimoga was clean, well organised, and had huge posters of all the places you could visit around the city. There were quite a few interesting possibilities, but time was a luxury we did not have. We were due to board a bus back to Mumbai in a few hours, and in that short time, wanted to explore Shimoga. I remembered reading about the Shivappa Nayaka Palace on a couple of friends’ blogs , and d...
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River Tern Lodge, Bhadra

As Diwali approaches, I have been re-living our trip last Diwali to Karnataka. We started on a devotional note, visiting  Sringeri ,  Udupi  and  Kollur . But that did not stop us having  unexpected surprises  which had nothing to do with temples, as well as  adventures that we had not planned for . We eventually reached our final destination - River Tern Lodge at the Bhadra Reservoir, and now, continuing with the story... River  Tern Bhadra. ... the resort is named for the two things which make the place so special – the Bhadra Reservoir, where it is located; and the River Terns, birds which come here every winter, to breed and nest. Most visitors come here to observe the sight of hundreds and hundreds of these birds nesting in the islands from Feb to June each year. We visited in October, and saw a completely different sight – the sight of the reservoir filled almost to the brim, due to the heavy rains, the islands completely submerged. ...
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