UNIQUE CAVES OF THE JAIN TRADITION: UDAYAGIRI AND KHANDAGIRI

English: Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves are located near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh. These two caves are located on two hills about two hundred meterss in front of each other. His ancient name was Kumaragiri. Here, the Jain monks who came out for nirvana used to come and do penance. Some of the caves here are natural and some are human built. Inscriptions, engraved statues, etc. in the caves indicate that it was the main pilgrimage center of Jainism in ancient times. There are eighteen caves in Udayagiri and fifteen in Khandagiri, with beautiful carvings of architecture including animal-birds, trees-belts, majestic, cosmic scenes and religious sculptures.