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About
History
Udaygiri
Khandgiri
The conquests
The contrast Kharavela
Location
| | About | | These are the twin hills 7 kms. from Bhubaneshwar. The 135 ft high Udaygiri and 118 ft high Khandagiri hills have ancient caves. Khandagiri means "broken hill" and Udaygiri means "hill of the sunrise." The caves on the two low hills of Udaygiri and Khandagiri give ample proof of Jain and Buddhist occupation.
This served as the site of an ancient Jain monastery, which was carved into cave like chambers in the face of the hill. The twin hills of Kumargiri and Kumarigiri known as Khandagiri and Udaygiri contain varieties of rock-cut caves.
Dating back to the 2nd century BC, some of the caves have beautiful carvings. The Rani Gumpha (Queen's Cave) - one of the largest and double-storied is ornately embellished with beautiful carvings. In the Hati Gumpha (Elephant Cave), King Kharavela carved out the chronicles of his reign. It is a magnificent specimen of Pali records so far found in India.
| | | History | | The records, found incised on the walls of some of these caves, furnish the supreme evidence of the existence of a powerful dynasty, the 'Chetis' (Chedis).
Kudepasiri and Vadukha are known only as the donors of two of the cells of the lower storey of Cave-9 (Manchapuri) of Udaygiri. But many details are available about Kharavela from his famous inscription engraved on the brow of the rock over Cave-14 (Hathi-gumpha) of the same hill. The inscription, in seventeen lines, is largely defaced and indistinct, with the result that its full text cannot be made out and its interpretation is not always above doubt.
| | | Udaygiri | | There are many caves in the middle of the second hillock. There are statues of elephants on the gate of first Alkapuri cave. Behind it, Rani cave has numerous internal caves. In patel cave there are several idols of different Tirthankaras.
Udaygiri is adorned with a number of beautiful caves out of which the largest one is the 'Rani Gumpha'. Another important cave is 'Hathi Gumpha' containing the only rock-cut inscription in India, which records chronologically the deeds of king Kharavela.
| | | Khandgiri | | There are strait ladders to climb up on the hill. There are four temples on the mountain, the oldest being 200 years old. Thousands of fragments lie behind it. There is one cave by name "Barah Bhuji cave". Many caves are for meditation. Akshay Ganga, Gupta Ganga, Shyam kund and Radha kund are behind the main temple.
On the Khandagiri are more than a dozen caves. The 24 tirthankaras cave containing the images (all carved on monolithic stone) of the 24 Apostles of Jainism is of great interest.
Two monolithic elephants guard the other fascinating cave known as ‘Ganesh Cave’.
| | | The conquests | | King Kharavela was a powerful ruler, who acquired great proficiency in games and received good education while the prince. He was installed as 'Yuvaraja' (crown prince) when he was sixteen and succeeded to the throne when he attained twenty five. Almost immediately thereafter he launched Kalinga on an ambitious career of conquest, leading expeditions far and wide. In the second year of his rule he led his troops to the west without caring for the Satavahana king 'Satakarni' and reached the river Krishna and challenged the ruler.
Next he captured the capital of a prince named 'Vidyadhara' and subdued the 'Rashtrikas' and 'Bhojakas' in the north Deccan. Four years later, he stormed 'Gorathagiri' (Barabar hills, Gaya) and harassed the ruler of 'Rajagriha' (Rajgir, District Nalanda). A 'Yavana' (Indo-Greek) king is said to have fled to Mathura out of fear.
In his eleventh year he destroyed the city of 'Pithuda' (Masulipatam region) and next year challenged the rulers of 'Uttarapatha' (north India) defeating King 'Bahasatimita' of Magadha (south Bihar). He brought back with him booty from Ariga (east Bihar) and Magadha, including a Jain-cult object (Kalinga-fina), which was taken away long ago by 'Nanda', the ruler of Magadha. Next he snatched treasures from the 'Pandyan' king in the extreme south. Thus, the brunt of Kharavela's sword was felt throughout a large part of India.
| | | The contrast Kharavela | | Kharavela was as great in peace as in war. In the first year of his rule he rebuilt the gates and walls of 'Kalinganagara', his capital, which had been devastated by a cyclone. Next he concentrated on enlarging a canal said to have been excavated by a Nanda king. In the 'Kumari-Parvata' (Udaygiri Khandagiri) he excavated, caves for Jain ascetics and erected at an enormous cost, on the 'Pragbhara' in the neighbourhood of the monastic retreats, a certain structure with hundreds of stones collected from different quarries and pillars with core of cat's eye gem. No doubt he was a ruler of great accomplishments.
Kharavela's chief queen is known to have been the donor of the upper storey of Cave-9 ('Svargapuri') of Udaygiri. Majority of the caves originated during this period. At the same time, an earlier origin of the Jain establishment on the hills cannot be ruled out. It is also not unlikely that the Kalinga-fina removed by the Nanda king and recovered by Kharavela had its original enshrinement on the hills and was reinstalled here by Kharavela.
The rise of the 'Lakulisa-Pasupata' sect, which transformed Bhubaneswar into a 'Saiva' centre and the growing influence of which was ultimately responsible for the decline of Buddhism in that city hardly affected this Jain centre, whose inscriptions show that it continued to be inhabited under the 'Bhaumas' and their successors, the 'Somavamsis'.
| | | Location | | 7 kms. from Bhubaneshwar | |
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