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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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The Story of my Summer Trip.....

The Summer of 2015 was a memorable vacation. We set out on a trip which took us across the country, starting from Tadoba in Maharashtra to Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh, and finally, Kanyakumari in Tamilnadu. This was the trip I literally travelled all the way from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean! The trip lasted all through the month of May, but the resulting posts kept me occupied for the rest of the year. I completed the series just before the year ended, and here is a look at the whole journey.... first, through my attempt at Storifying the series.... and with links to all the individual posts... 





  • The Southern Jaunt


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  1. Aravind GJMay 29, 2015 at 9:32 PM

    Nice trip!! and good photos!!

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  2. NatalieGMay 31, 2015 at 7:09 AM

    There are so many great stories and snaps just in your condensed version! I'm looking forward to the detailed blog posts. As I was looking through your pictures there were a lot of dramatic skies with all the rain you encountered. I know it was probably dismaying to have to deal with the bad weather, but it made for some beautiful photo compositions. And your sister-in-law's gardens are absolutely gorgeous! :)

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    1. Anuradha ShankarMay 31, 2015 at 9:01 AM

      Thank you so much, Natalie!!! and yes, the rains were actually welcome... we expected it to be burning hot, and the rains ensured that the weather was perfect!

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  3. R Niranjan DasMay 31, 2015 at 11:20 AM

    Wonderful teaser. Look forward to those lovely stories. :)

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