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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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Malabar Giant Squirrel

The Malabar Giant Squirrel or Indian Giant Squirrel is described as “an upper canopy dwelling species, which rarely leaves the trees. It is a shy, wary animal, not easy to discover; it is active mostly early in the mornings and evenings, resting in the midday.”





Till recently, I had only had fleeting glimpses of the Giant Squirrel, usually as it disappeared into the dense canopy before I could get a close look. Which is why, when I saw one perched atop a tree outside my room, I waited till I got some decent photos before calling out to Samhith and the others, informing them of its presence.

As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. It was a regular visitor here, having its breakfast, and in no hurry to leave before it had its fill! It stayed on that particular tree for over an hour before finally taking a massive leap to another one, and disappearing in seconds!

The Malabar Giant Squirrels are a species endemic to the deciduous and moist evergreen forests of Peninsular India, extending as far as the Satpura hill ranges of Madhya Pradesh.

Incidentally, it is also the State Animal of Maharashtra, and is called ‘Shekru’ in Marathi. The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary was created in 1984, specifically with the aim of protecting its habitat. However, I saw it, not in its protected sanctuary, but at Dandeli, at the Dandeli Jungle Camp, where I stayed for a night during my recent trip.
I visited Dandeli as part of a trip organised and arranged by Dandeli.com, a website dedicated to developing tourism in and around the area. 

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  1. Meghana HassanJanuary 11, 2014 at 11:58 PM

    Great clicks, Anu..

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 13, 2014 at 11:06 AM

    we recently saw the Malabar giant squirrel when we visited thekkady and went to the deep safari, it was there lazing and sleeping on top of the tree

    ReplyDelete

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