Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves

Rock-cut cells carved for Jain ascetics under King Kharavela, carrying one of the most important inscriptions in early Indian history.

The caves were cut as monastic dwellings rather than as temples — low cells, some barely tall enough to sit in, which is the point: they were made for people who owned nothing.

The Hathigumbha inscription of Kharavela, cut into the Elephant Cave, records his reign and his patronage of Jainism in the second century BCE. It is a primary source for a period that has very few.

Written for Jain Times. Corrections are welcome — see sources and licences.