Deepak Mahato
Every second seems to be an hour waiting at the Bhubaneswar railway station, airport or in your guest house. Pay a visit to the partly natural and partly artificial caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri.
Once you start exploring the two caves located in the outskirts of the state capital you will start feeling you are running short of time and should have made a proper holiday trip to see the sights.
The caves are located on two adjacent hills of Udayagiri and Khandagiri around 19 km from the state capital. The natural and artificial caves have their religious, historical and archaeological importance.
The finely and richly carved rocks will just make you say wow. According to locals, the stones were carved for Jain monks some 2,000 years back. Both the caves have been described in historical inscriptions. The caves were believed to be inhibited by Jain and Buddhist scholars back then.
According to the guides and locals, “Khandagiri” means broken hills and Udayagiri means hill of sunrise.
Khandagiri Caves
Khandagiri Caves has total 15 sub caves. Every cave has been beautifully designed with paintings and motifs. To reach the caves one needs to climb a flight of steps leading from the road.
Every cave is different from the other. A must-see is the 24 Tirthankara Caves. The Caves contain carvings of all the 24 apostles of Jainism on a single stone. The hill also has a modern Jain temple on the top which is dedicated to the 24th Jain Tirthankara — Mahavira.
Inside Khandagiri there are total 15 sub caves including Tatowa Gumpha 1 and 2, Ananta Gumpha, Tentuli Gumpha, Khandagiri Gumpha, Dhyana Gumpha, Navamuni Gumpha, Barabhuji Gumpha, Trusula Gumpha, Ambika Gumpha, Ekadasi Gumpha and Lalatendukesari Gumpha.
A visit to Totowa Cave 1 and 2 and Anantha Cave is a must visit. The cave has been named after Totowa (parrot). While entering the cave you will notice carvings of birds on the arches of the doorway while the Anantha Cave also known as the snake cave contains carvings of elephants, women and birds. As the name Anantha Gumpha suggests the entrance has snake decorations.
Udayagiri Caves
One gets completely mesmerized once between the 18-sub caves in the Udayagiri Caves. The overwhelming sub-caves in the hill are Rani Gumpha, Bajaghara Gumpha, Chota Hathi Gumpha, Alkapuri Gumpha, Jaya-Vijaya Gumpha, Panasa Gumpha, Thakurani Gumpha, Patalapuri Gumpha, Mancapuri Gumpha, Ganesha Gumpha, Jambesvara Gumpha, Byaghra Gumpha, Sarpa Gumpha, Hathi Gumpha, Dhanaghara Gumpha, Haridasa Gumpha, Jagammath Gumpha and Rosai Gumpha.
The Rani Gumpha or the Queen’s Cave, a prominent cave in the hill, is double- storied having the finest wall paintings, architecture and sculptures. The lower storey has three entrances having a pillared verandah. The entrance of the cell has been embroidered with animals and arches bearing religious and royal scenes including a couple standing with folded hands and a female dancer and musician.
While the main central wing shows the victory march of a king the upper-storey has six cells supported with beautifully carved pillars.
Other important caves which are all must- sees during the short visit are Chota Hathi Gumpha which is outstanding for its frontage having a masterly carving of six vigorous elephants at the entrance. Alakapuri Gumpha has sculptures of a lion holding a prey and pillars having winged animals with human and bird heads. Jaya Vijaya Gumpha is also double-storied and has a carved Bodhi tree which is worshipped by a couple on either side.
Ganesh Gumpha as named has Lord Ganesh carved on the back in one of the cells. The carvings in the cave narrates the story of the Princess of Ujjayini with Kausambi King in the company of Vasantaka. The Byaghra Gumpha has been so named, as the entrance has been carved in the shape of a tiger’s mouth.
