ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Photo Feature: Jain Caves of Udaygiri and Khandagiri

Updated on March 16, 2016

Udaygiri-Khandagiri is a group of caves which is very important in the view of archeology, religion and ancient history of India. The caves were carved for Jain monks in the reign of the famous Kaling Emperor Kharvel, who was a great patron of Jainism and a devote Jain. The caves were exclusively carved for the wandering Jain monks who occasionally resided here. This was a great place of meditation for Jain monks. The caves were carved in 2nd Century B.C.E.

The caves are situated on two hills near Bhubaneshwar, the Capital city of the state of Odisha, India. There are a total number of 33 caves.

Few years ago I got an opportunity to visit the cave with my cousins and uncle. I took a lot of photographs of the caves and the art sculpture in it.

A View of Udaygiri Caves

Udaygiri: Photograph taken from Khandgiri hill
Udaygiri: Photograph taken from Khandgiri hill | Source

Hathigumpha: The Elephant Cave

Hathigumpha (Elephant Cave) is the most important cave of the Udaygiri-Khandgiri as it has an inscription which is very useful to know many things about ancient India. The inscription is in Brahmi script and Magadhi language and written in 17 lines. The inscription gives many details of the incidents in the life of Emperor Kharvel, including his conflict with Greek invader Demetrius and the surrender of Pushyamitra Shung, the Emperor of Magadh. The inscription starts with the ancient version of Namokar Mantra of Jainism. This is the oldest inscription where we find the word Bhaarat (the original name of India).

Hathigumpha

Hathigumpha i.e. Elephant Cave
Hathigumpha i.e. Elephant Cave | Source

Rani Gumpha: The Queen’s Cave


This is one of the most important caves on Udaygiri Hill. This cave was carved on wish of Sinhpath, the queen of Emperor Kharvel.

This cave is two storied and has a big ground in front of it. The cave is carved in natural rock. There is a lot of sculpture carved on the walls of cells in this cave, which tells us about the life of the Emperor.

Ranigumpha

Ranigumpha front view
Ranigumpha front view | Source
Ranigumpha: A view from second floor
Ranigumpha: A view from second floor | Source

Baghgumpha (Tiger Cave)

Baghgumpha or Tiger Cave is a unique cave of Udaygiri. This cave looks like a tiger with opened mouth. The Architect of this cave has done his best by carving teeth, nose and eyes like a tiger. The cave has a small veranda and a meditation room. There is an inscription with the symbol of Swastik in it.

Baghgumpha

Baghgumpha (Tiger Cave)
Baghgumpha (Tiger Cave) | Source
Baghgumpha (Tiger Cave) Side View
Baghgumpha (Tiger Cave) Side View | Source

Sculpture in the Cave

There are many carved sculptures in the Rani Gumpha, i.e. the Queen's Cave. The sculptures are related to some historical events.

Here are tow photographs of such sculpture. In first photo, Emperor Kharvel and his Queen Sinhpath with others are bowing Jain ascetics. Second photograph is about a battle.

Source
Source

Jain Idols at Khandgiri Caves

In the caves of Khandgiri, there are many beautiful and ancient idols of Jain teertahnakars. The first photograph is a part of the panel of idols of 24 Jain Teerthankars with their symbols and their protector Goddesses.

The second photograph depicts idols of two Teerthankars.

Panel of idols of Jain Teerthankars
Panel of idols of Jain Teerthankars | Source
Two Teerthankars
Two Teerthankars | Source

A Tourist Place

As this place is very important for those who are interested in Ancient Indian history, archeology and Jainism, hundreds of thousands of tourists and pilgrims visit it every year. below is a photograph of European tourists visiting this place.

© Article and Photographs copyright: jainismus Mahavir Sanglikar

Documentary on Udaigiri Khandgiri Jain Caves

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)