Location: 7-8 km from Bhubaneswar
Time of establishment: 2nd century BC
Orissa is well known for the ancient caves located in the twin cities
of Udaygiri (meaning the hill of the sunrise) and Khandagiri (meaning
the broken hill). They are situated near the capital city of
Bhubaneswar. Udaygiri caves are approximately 135 ft high and Khandagiri
caves are 118 ft high. The caves are reminiscent of influence of
Buddhism and Jainism in Orissa. The origin of the rock cut caves of
Udaygiri and Khandagiri dates back to the 2nd century BC.
The main attraction of these caves consists of its stupendous carvings.
Of all the caves in Udaygiri, the largest one is the Rani Gumpha or the
Queen's Cave. The cave of the queen is adorned with elaborate
carvings. There is also an Elephant Cave or the Hathi Gumpha, where you
can find the amazing statues of elephants installed on the gate. In the
Khandagiri city, one can find a large number of caves and most of them
have been occupied for meditative purposes.
Some of the popular caves in Khandagiri include Akshay Ganga, Gupta
Ganga, Shyam Kund and Radha Kund. One of the most interesting caves is
the 24-Tirthankaras Cave. It contains the carvings of the twenty-four
Apostles of Jainism, on the monolithic stones. There is another
fascinating cave known as the 'Ganesh Cave'. Udaygiri &
Khandagiri caves are one of the famous tourist attractions near the
Bhubaneshwar city of India today.