Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves

History glossary

Topic: Early Indian Art and Architecture: Stupas, Rock-cut Caves, Temples · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 6 "The Age of Reorganisation"

Meaning

Udayagiri and Khandagiri are twin hills near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, where 33 small rock-cut caves were made as homes for Jaina monks [2]. The Chedi king Kharavela was their main patron. The caves matter for two reasons. They are among the earliest Jaina monuments in India. They also hold the Hathigumpha inscription, a rare year-by-year record of one king's reign.

Explanation

Background: the rock-cut tradition reaches Odisha

Rock-cut means the workers did not build the caves with blocks. They cut into the hill and removed stone until a room was left. The whole cave is one piece of rock, with no joints and no mortar.
This tradition began at Barabar (Bihar) in the 3rd century BCE. There, Asoka had caves cut for the Ajivikas (a sect of renouncers).
Under the Satavahanas it spread to the western Deccan, for example the Buddhist caves at Karla.
Udayagiri-Khandagiri carried it to the east coast, and here the caves were for Jaina monks.
Patron: Kharavela, king of the Chedi line of Kalinga (ancient Odisha). He called himself bhikshu-raja, meaning "monk-king": a ruler who also lived by a monk's values.

Main features of the caves

Number: 33 caves in all, 18 on Udayagiri and 15 on Khandagiri [2].
Ancient names: Udayagiri was Kumari parvata and Khandagiri was Kumara parvata (parvata = hill) [2].
Purpose: they were dwelling retreats for Jaina recluses (monks who live away from society) [2].
They are small, plain cells for living in.
They are not large prayer halls like the Buddhist chaityas at Karla or Ajanta.
Largest caves: Ranigumpha and Swargapuri-Manchapuri have two storeys and are the biggest in the group [2].
Hathigumpha ("elephant cave") is itself a plain cave. What makes it famous is the writing cut on its brow (the overhanging rock above the entrance) [2].

The Hathigumpha inscription

It is written in Brahmi script and has 17 lines [2].
It is a year-by-year record of Kharavela's reign. Ancient India has very few dated royal records, so this one is rare.
It records his military campaigns, including:
a victory over Magadha [2];
bringing back a Jaina cult image (an image used in worship) that a Nanda king had carried away from Kalinga long before [2].
It calls Kharavela "respector of every sect and repairer of every temple."
So a Jaina king claimed religious merit by helping all sects, not only his own.

How the site changed over time

Inscriptions at the site run from the 2nd century BCE to the 10th century CE [2].
This means the hills stayed in religious use for more than a thousand years after the first caves were cut.

Time, place and evidence

Place: twin hills near Bhubaneswar, Odisha (ancient Kalinga).
Period: the main caves belong to Kharavela's reign. His exact date is debated. Most textbooks place him around the 1st century BCE, and some historians put him earlier. The site's inscriptions as a whole run from the 2nd century BCE to the 10th century CE [2].
Key person: Kharavela, the Chedi king of Kalinga, a Jaina who called himself bhikshu-raja.
Key caves: Hathigumpha (inscription), Ranigumpha and Swargapuri-Manchapuri (double-storeyed) [2].
How we know about it:
the Hathigumpha inscription in Brahmi [2];
the other inscriptions at the site [2];
the surviving caves themselves, which are described by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) [2].

Don't confuse with

Barabar caves (Bihar): these were cut on Asoka's orders in the 3rd century BCE for the Ajivikas. Udayagiri-Khandagiri was cut under Kharavela for Jaina monks.
Karla / Ajanta chaityas: these are Buddhist sites with large prayer halls, rock-cut stupas and, at Ajanta, paintings. Udayagiri-Khandagiri caves are small Jaina living cells.
Udayagiri caves (Madhya Pradesh, near Vidisha): these share the name but belong to the Gupta period and are mostly Hindu. The Odisha Udayagiri is the Jaina site linked with Kharavela.
Hathigumpha vs Ranigumpha: Hathigumpha carries the inscription but is a plain cave. Ranigumpha is one of the two largest, double-storeyed caves [2].

Prelims Hooks

Udayagiri-Khandagiri: near Bhubaneswar, Odisha; Jaina caves; patron Kharavela of the Chedi line, who called himself bhikshu-raja.
33 caves: 18 on Udayagiri + 15 on Khandagiri [2].
Ancient names: Udayagiri = Kumari parvata, Khandagiri = Kumara parvata [2]. These are easy to swap in an MCQ trap.
Hathigumpha inscription: Brahmi script, 17 lines. It records a victory over Magadha and the return of a Jaina image taken away by a Nanda king [2].
Ranigumpha and Swargapuri-Manchapuri: the double-storeyed, largest caves of the group [2].
Chronology of rock-cut sites: Barabar (Asoka, 3rd c. BCE) → Udayagiri-Khandagiri (Kharavela) / Karla (Satavahana) → Ajanta (Vakataka phase, 5th–6th c. CE) → Kailasa, Ellora (8th c. CE).

Mains Points

Royal support for many religions: Kharavela was a Jaina, yet the Hathigumpha inscription calls him "respector of every sect and repairer of every temple."
The same pattern appears with Asoka, who gave caves to the Ajivikas.
It also appears with the Satavahanas, who gave tax-free land to Vedic scholars, Jainas and Buddhists alike.
Use this to show that early Indian kings usually did not rule as single-religion states.
The Hathigumpha inscription as a historical source: dated royal records are rare in ancient India, and this one gives a year-by-year account of a reign.
Its mention of a Nanda king taking a Jaina image shows that Kalinga remembered events from centuries earlier.
Its victory over Magadha shows a regional power from the east coast challenging the old centre of power in the Ganga valley.
Continuity of a sacred site: the inscriptions run from the 2nd century BCE to the 10th century CE [2], so the hills stayed in religious use for over a thousand years.
The site also shows that Jaina monks took part in the rock-cut tradition with simple living cells, while Buddhist sites built grand halls.

Related concepts

The rock-cut tradition

Sources

1Class 7, Ch 6 "The Age of Reorganisation" (primary)
2Udaygiri and Khandagiri Cavesasi.nic.in · tier 1