Khandagiri & Udayagiri Caves

Dating back to the 1st century BCE, the Khandagiri and Udayagiri Caves were carved during the reign of King Kharavela as retreats for Jain monks. They face each other across the road on twin sandstone hills (eighteen caves cut into Udayagiri, fifteen into Khandagiri) and are cells, low enough that most were meant to be entered on hands and knees and slept in. Rani Gumpha, the largest, runs to two storeys and carries friezes of processions, hunts and dancers around its verandas. Above the entrance to Hathigumpha, the elephant cave, is the inscription the site is known for: seventeen lines of Prakrit in Brahmi script, and the fullest surviving account of Kharavela's reign.