Udayagiri caves

Good evening everyone...!!!

Today I will be taking you to Udayagiri caves in Bhubaneswar ....

Udayagiri Caves, formerly called Kattaka Caves or Cuttack caves, are partly natural and partly artificial caves of archaeological, historical and religious importance near the city of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. The caves are situated on two adjacent hills, Udayagiri and Khandagiri mentioned as Kumari Parvata in the Hathigumpha inscription. They have a number of finely and ornately carved caves built during the 1st century BCE. It is believed that most of these caves were carved out as residential blocks for Jain monks during the reign of King Kharavela. Udayagiri means "Sunrise Hill" and has 18 caves while Khandagiri has 15 caves. The caves of Udayagiri, called lena or leṇa in the inscriptions, these were taken out mostly during the reign of Kharavela for the abode of Jain ascetics. The most importance of this group was Ranigumpha in Udayagiri which is a double storeyed monastery. Other important caves include Hathi Gumpha, Ananta Gumpha, Ganesha Gumpha, Jaya Vijaya Gumpha, Mancapuri Gumpha, Bagha/byaghra/vyaghra Gumpha and Sarpa Gumpha.

B. M. Barua, based on a reading of line 14 of the Hathi Gumpha inscription, declared that a total of 117 caves were excavated by Kharavela and others on the Kumari hill (Udayagiri). Marshall has counted more than 35 caves in both the hills, while M.M. Ganguli has enumerated only 27 caves. The carvings in Ganesha Gupha narrate the story of the elopement of Bassavadatta, Princess of Ujjayini, with King Udayana of Kausambi in the company of Vasantaka. The inscription in jambesvara Gupha tells that it is the cave of Nayaki, wife of Mahamade. The inscription found in vyaghra Gupha tells that this cave belongs to the city judge Sabhuti.the Hathigumpha cave ("Elephant Cave") has the Hathigumpha inscription, written by Raja Kharavela, the king of Kalinga in India, during the 2nd century BCE. The Hathigumpha inscription consists of seventeen lines incised in deep cut Brahmi letters on the overhanging brow of a natural cavern Hathigumpha in the south side of the Udayagiri hill. The inscription also refers to the Kharaval's feat of bringing back the status of Agra-jina (transl. Rishabhanatha) which was taken by Nanda empire. It faces the rock edicts of Asoka at Dhauli, situated about six miles away.