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 ...
An ancient 3 storied temple , which has its roots in the great deluge and the creation of life, where the goddess herself appeared to feed a child who would grow up to be one of the greatest of the Shaivite saints, Sirkazhi has everything you would look for in a temple – legend, beauty and history, and more than anything, one is absolutely awed by this temple. From Diwali 08 - Thanjvur Trip The first thing you see when you enter this temple is the pond. This is the sacred pond on the bank of which a small child was left by his father when he went to bathe. The child was hungry and began to cry. Shiva recognized his future devotee and asked Parvati to pacify the child. Parvati appeared on the banks of the pond, and fed the child with her own milk of knowledge – gynaana paal – and the child was hereafter known as Thiru gynaana sambandar , who sang songs in praise of Shiva even as a child. Even today the image of the saint in this temple is fed sweetened milk, which is given to de...