The Hindu and Buddhist history of Odisha , or rather, ancient Kalinga, is rather well known to everyone. Who hasn’t heard of the grand temples of Odisha – Puri, Lingaraj and Konark, or the great war of Kalinga which inspired Ashoka to convert to Buddhism? In contrast, very few know of the Jaina heritage of this region. This is quite a pity, since, just around 7 km from the city, is one of India’s most ancient inscriptions, which throws light on the Jaina heritage of Odisha. This inscription is the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela, in the hills of Udaygiri. Udaygiri and Khandgiri are two hills located opposite each other, and both are testaments to the rich Jaina heritage of Odisha. The caves at Udaygiri are older, while Khandgiri is relatively newer, but has lasted much longer, and continues to be a place of pilgrimage for Jains even today. These hills, from inscriptions and excavations of caves, shrines and rock beds, appear to have been a haven for Jaina monks, right from the ...
Where there is a fort, there usually are dungeons. Except,
that these days we rarely get to see any. Which is why, when we saw a Karnataka
Tourism board proclaiming the presence of two dungeons in Srirangapatna,
Samhith was all agog with anticipation. The first dungeon, as it turned out,
was very near the Ranganathaswamy Temple. The Colonel Bailey’s dungeon, as it
is called, is where Colonel Bailey was held captive during the Second Mysore War, by
Tipu Sultan.
The dungeon is not easily visible, concealed as it is by the
remnants of the fort bastion.
This section is called Sultan’s Battery – where
the cannons were deployed, and right in the centre, there is one cannon, which,
during the war, fell through the wall, and is said to be lying here ever since!
You can see the section of the ceiling which has caved in.
However, most interesting, at least to my 10 year old war
obsessed kid, was this….
His imagination ran wild at the thought of all the British
soldiers chained to the walls!
The second dungeon on the list is called Thomas Inman’s
dungeon. Unlike the first one, this is named, not for someone who died here,
but for the one who discovered it. It is believed that this dungeon was used by
Tipu Sultan to imprison Marathas and other prisoners of war. The auto driver we
had hired was hesitant to take us there, but when we insisted, he managed to
get directions. All we got to see, however, was this….
The board announcing the presence of the dungeons.
The area around looked something like this…
And try as we might, we weren’t able to find our way inside!
Someone we talked to later suggested that the entry might have been closed for
maintenance work, since the palace was also closed around that time, but we weren’t
able to confirm it. It was a disappointment though, to have missed out on
another dungeon!
The dungeons still create a feel of fear as you go down the steps. It quite well maintained too.
ReplyDeleteWell, we visited in May, it was hot, and the place was filled with people, so actually there was nothing scary about it. but i can imagine it would be if there was less of a crowd... well maintained. yes it is.
DeleteAt the time we visit, there were only we 2 friends.
DeleteAnd yes the pit hole in the left corner it really looks scary 😱 we tried to go near it but because of fear we couldn't dare to.
srirangpatnam has such divine and beautiful temples and scenic beauty. thanks for sahring the images they are so eye glittering.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteReally historic
ReplyDeleteyes, Shrinidhi.. the whole of Srirangapatna seems to be filled with such interesting and historic sites.
DeleteIt is a informative post , thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteDear Anuradha
ReplyDeleteJust chanced upon your blog while hopping at a friend's blog ..wonderful I must say . So much things to know and definitiely not possible to see all the places ..so I am an armchair traveler ..Let me see what all you have here for me
have a nice week
Beautiful pictures..A great blog :-)
ReplyDeleteI like your post very much...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this wonderful post, It is awesome.
Dear anuradha,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful picture ,I like ur post.thanks for sharing ths amazing post
It's a informative post and really historic