SARPA GUMPHA, Khandgiri - Udayagiri

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 18/05/2016

A man-made »cave temple« (rock-cut chamber used for religious purposes) somewhere on (the hill) Udayagiri, –>Khandgiri - Udayagiri Caves. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1882: »Poori, chief town on the coast in N. lat. 19° 48' 17” and E. long. 85° 51' 39” … being an isolated and distant spot, was the refuge of Boodhism … The principal antiquities are at Khandgiri, half-way between Poori and Cuttak, with the snake, elephant, and tiger caves in sandstone« (SMITH, G 1882: 97). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1990: »… Sarpa Gumpha or Serpent Cave, where a tiny door is surmounted by a three-headed cobra. Only 15 m or so from this is the Bagh Gumpha (12) or Tiger Cave …« (LONELY PLANET, India 1990: 596; 1993: 502; 1997: 540). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2005: »… small Sarpa Gumpha (Serpent Cave), where the tiny door is surmounted by a three-headed cobra« (LONELY PLANET, India 2001: 490; 2003: 496; 2005: 565; 2009: 649; LONELY PLANET, South India 2001: 245).