Jaina Vestiges at Udayagiri and Khandagiri (Introduction)

[Full title: Contemporary Relevance—A Case Study of Jaina Vestiges at Udayagiri and Khandagiri]

In the contemporary society a tourist always seeks for a destination of which fulfills his multifold ambition in a particular geographical area viz., some fine beaches, an exotic wild life, a soul rejuvenate pilgrimage, a center of art and festivals and historic monuments. Odisha presents an interesting matrix of cultural variety for catering to the need of the tourists of various kinds. The holy land of Odisha is blessed with pristine beaches and a melting point of art, tradition and religion. Rich natural endowments coupled with abundance of cultural heritage provide an ample scope for the promotion of tourism. Odisha occupies a pride of place among the states of India with liberal bounties of nature and a rich plethora of cultural heritage. The nature lover, the spiritual follower, the connoisseur of arts, the writer, the photographer, whoever you may be the land provides ample scope and landscape to please all. The architectural and cultural treasures of the state have remained a vast source of attraction for visitors’ through ages^[1]. A number of important places of attractions in Odisha and commonly visited by the tourists are Lord Jagannatha temple (Puri), Sun temple (Konark), Chilka, Bhitarakanika, Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves and the Buddhist circuits of Ratnagiri, Lalitagiri and Udayagiri sites. Puri, Konark and Bhubaneswar are popular tourist spots of both national and international travelers and regarded as the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Odisha.

Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha is an exceptional tourist destination in Odisha for its age old heritage of history. The city is embelished with garland of ancient splendor of stone temples like Lingaraja, Mukteswara, Rajarani, Bhaskareswara etc.; ancient forts like Sisupalgarha and Chudangagarh; cave architecture like Dhauli, Udayagiri and Khandagiri. It is indeed rare to find anywhere in India such a large number of ancient monuments at one place and covers such a long period and so well represents the dynastic changes in history^[2]. The caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri are one of the earliest groups of Jaina rock-cut monuments command a unique position in eastern India in the field of history, rock-cut architecture, art and religion^[3]. The existing age old Jaina antiquities in the form of caves, sculptures as well the inscriptions and the Jaina temple at Udayagiri and Khandagiri also give impetus to the tourist influx to the state. The objective of the present chapter aims at analyzing the growth and prospects of tourism industry in Odisha in relation to Jaina heritage of Udayagiri and Khandagiri and to highlighting the problems and impediments of the site and thereby, suggesting concrete measures for the growth of Odishan tourism in general and Udayagiri and Khandagiri in particular.