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 ...
You have been reading my travelogues for around 3 years now, so here's something new for all of you. That mine was a family of wanderers is something all of you know very well by now. All of us jump at any chance to travel, but I am the only one who has been jotting down my experiences. Recently, one of my maternal uncles has taken to writing his experiences too. He works for the Airport Authority of India, and gets to travel a lot, looking for sites for new airports and sites where work is in progress. Thus, he gets to go to places which are out of the way, yet of tourist interest. When I asked him to start writing his own blog, he suggested that maybe I could use his travelogues on mine. Needless to say, I was thrilled. So here's the first one - his account of his visit to Kushinagar in September. Kushinagar I had an opportunity to visit to Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, in connection with construction of an international airport at Kushinagar. I was surprised to...