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 ...
Are women more interested in visiting temples than men are? I have been wondering ever since I returned from Chennai. What do you think? Please do let me know. Why am I asking you? Well, the reason is an incident that occurred in Chennai. We had all planned to go to a number of temples, starting early in the morning. We all woke up, only to realize that one by one, people were pulling out, citing various reasons. Finally, it was only me, my mom, and two of my aunts who actually started out. Of course, Samhith came along. He had no choice! However, this got me wondering – why is it that in most cases, it is only the women who want to visit temples? Or is it so only in our family? I really would like to hear your opinions on this……….. Coming back to the temples that we visited, we had a long list in hand, but all the discussions about who was coming along, delayed us, and we could visit just 5 temples. Much has been written about these temples by others more qualified to do so, and I ...