Trip Advisor

Timing

09:00 - 18:00

Closing Day

NA

Website

NA

Direction

Map

Phone

NA

Toilet

NO

Wheelchair Accessible

NO

Do's/Dont's

NA

Audio Guide

NO

Entrance Fees (Per Person)

India

Adult

300

Child

0

Foreign Nationals

Adult

300

Child

0

Bimstec and Saarc Nationals

Adult

25

Child

0

History

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) is in charge of the Udaygiri caves and it’s a ticketed monument. The major attractions of the Udaygiri caves areHathigumpha : or the elephant cave as its known bears the inscriptions of King Kharavela. The seventeen lines mentions about his many conquests and his way of governance.The Rani Gumpha : or the Queen cave ; is a double storeyed structure with beautiful carvings. Exquisite carvings apart, the cave is known for its acoustic characteristics.The Ganesh Gumpha : the Ganesha Cave known for its carvings of Jain teerthankar’s and other sculptures. The carving of Lord Ganesha and two elephants were added much later.The VyagharaGumpha : or the Tiger cave is so called because the entrance is shaped like the head of the tiger and the door shaped like a tiger’s throatThe caves located at the Khandagiri hills doesn’t come under the purview of the ASI.  The major caves of Khandagiri areBarabhuji Gumpha features the twelve armed Sasana Devi’s facing each other along with Tirthankar sculptures.Trushula Gumpha – One can find the twenty-four Jain Teerthankar’s carved on the walls of the cave. The sculpture of TirthankarRishab Dev stands out.Ambika Gumpha - The Yaksha and Yakshini’s of each Tirthankar is carved on the walls of the cave.The most extraordinary achievement of these beautifully carved caves is that each cave and sculpture was painstakingly carved by hand using basic tools. The architecture and exquisite carving is of top drawer. The carvings drew references from mythology and history. One of the most poignant section of carving is the depiction of the Kalinga War, where women and teenagers are depicted fighting to save their motherland from Ashoka’s army.  The caves served as residences for the Jain monks and were equipped with water source in form a small canal which passes through every cave, an ingenious communication system through holes, a place to light the lamps and the tilted flooring which served as a head rest. Many of the caves are double storeyed and its believed that the upper chambers of the caves were used for deep meditation.

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