Dhouli hills ,viswashanti stupa
It was here at the foot hills of by the side of Daya river that the valiant people of Kalinga defended their territory till their last breath… It was here the river of Daya turned blood red coloured…It was here the pangs of the deceased reverberated . It had influential consequences in Indian history. The space around DHOULI HILLS.
KALINGA BATTLE FIELD
It had incredible influence on the personal life and policy of Asoka. The despair and casualty which he had inflicted upon the people of Kalinga filled his heart with deep sorrow and regret. The cry of the wives and women of the dead, the tears of the children, the terrifying sufferings of the dying men, all had changed his heart and mind. Thousands were and taken as captive many more died in the famine and epidemics that followed.
DAYA RIVER
The invasion of Kalinga was a big milestone in the history of Magadha, and of India , Asoka was rocked with remorse at the blood shed.. He found his consolation in Buddhism. He was repenting for his deeds. He embraced Buddhism and took the vow of inculcating ‘Dharma’ to all men throughout his life. The King Asoka left behind the policy of Digvijaya and adopted the policy of,
This is the singular instance of a war in history which brought about a complete change of heart in a stern ruler like Ashoka. The scene of the war presented a horrible sight, the whole terrain was covered with the corpses of soldiers, wounded soldiers groaned in severe pain, vultures hovered over their dead bodies, orphaned children mourning the loss of their nears and dears, widows looked blank and despaired.
BUDHIST SHRINE DHULI HILLS
..Dhouli hills, barely six kms away from Bhubaneswar is a significant historical spot around the town..One in the ancient Brahmi script still stands beside the road at the foot of Dhouli hills. There remains a life like frontal view of an elephant carved out of a hill rock directly above the inscription., the rock-cut elephant above the Edicts can be identified as the oldest Buddhist sculptures in Odisha.The elephant sculpture symbolises birth of Budha represented here ass Gajottamah.As per the ASI excavations, many Rock Edicts like Nos. I-X, XIV and two separate Kalinga Edicts have been found in Dhouli hills.. As Ashoka’s expression of his concerned about the mankind in Kalinga Edict VI, it is inscribed that the “welfare of the whole world”.”You are in charge of many thousand living beings all men are my children and they obtain welfare and happiness both in this world and next.the same i desire for all men.”.As a testimony in the great transformation from the third century B.C. nurtured a number of budhist centres of learning, art and establishments in several places which flourished upto12 th and 13 th century AD.
SCUPLTURES OF BUDHA AROUND SHANTI STUPA
The white Budhist stupa or Viswashanti stupa stands at the top of Dhauli hills and is visible for miles around.
IMAGES FROM JATAK TALE
There is the Shanti stupa or peace pagoda a twentieth century structure of great aesthetic appeal. The present structure was built in the early seventies with an active Indo Japanese collaboration between Kalinga Nippon Budha Sangha and Japan BudhaSangha under the personal supervision of Mahamanya Fuji head of the Jpanese Budhist faith. The peace pagoda stands in the form of a massive dome with lotus petals as its crown.
On the four side of the lower part of stupa there are four chamber like structures adorned with marvelous sculptures of Budha made from a single block of stone. The scenes from Jataka Tales have been depicted in relief style on the entire wall of the lower part of the hemispherical stupa.It was entrancing as if time had frozen past.pain was liquified and it was filled along the banks Daya river,,,lean but tearing even in hard summer..the silence drinking clear river or the night shining white of the shanti stupa ,which is more appealing?