Historical Geography of Ancient India c7.274

c7.274

Khaṇḍagiri and Udayagiri.—The twin hills of Khaṇḍagiri and Udayagiri were known to the authors of the Hāthigumphā Cave Inscriptions as the Kumāra and the Kumārī hills. The two hills form part of a belt of sandstone rock, which, skirting the base of the granite hills of Orissa, extends from Autgar and Dekkunāl in a southerly direction past Khurdah and towards the Chilka lake (J.A.S.B., Old Series, Vol. VI, p. 1079). In the north-west of the Khurdah subdivision stands the Khaṇḍagiri hill at a distance of three miles north-west of Bhuvaneswar in the Puri district. The Khaṇḍagiri (broken hill) is the name applicable to three peaks, Udayagiri, Nilagiri and the Khaṇḍagiri. The crest of the Khaṇḍagiri is the highest point, being 123 ft. high, while the crest of the Udayagiri is 110 ft. high. The Udayagiri has a small Vaiṣṇava hermitage at its foot. It has fortyfour caves, the Khaṇḍagiri has nineteen and the Nilagiri has three. In the Udayagiri the caves are divided into two groups, one higher and the other lower. In the Khaṇḍagiri all the caves except two lie along the foot track. Among the Udayagiri caves the Rāṇigumphā or the Queen's Palace is the biggest. The other important caves are the Gaṇeshgumphā, the Jaya-Vijaya cave, the Mañcapurī, the Bāghgumphā (the Tiger cave) and the Sarpagumphā (the Snake cave). In addition to these the Hāthigumphā or the elephant cave and the Anantagumphā are noteworthy.