Another picnic spot that most of the tourist would like to visit is Dhauligiri (Oriya: ଧଉଳି). Dhauligiri is situated on the river banks of Daya, which is just about 8 K.M. away south of Bhubaneswar in Odisha (India). Basically it's a hill with vast space adjoining it and has got the major edicts of the great Emperor Ashoka which is engraved on a mass of rock by the side of the road leading to the summit of the hill. Dhauligiri is also presumed to be the area where the ancient great war that is Kalinga war was fought.
The edicts of Ashoka can be found in the rock cuts near Dhauli where it has been expressed about this life an during
The Rock Edicts found here include Nos. I-X, XIV and two separate Kalinga Edicts. In Kalinga Edict VI, he expresses his concern for the "welfare of the whole world". The rock-cut elephant above the Edicts is the earliest Buddhist sculpture of Odisha. The stone elephant shows the animal's foreparts only, though it has a fine sense of form and movement.
Ashoka had a special weakness for Dhauli, where the battle was fought. The Daya river is said to have turned red with the blood of the many deceased after the battle, and enabled Ashoka to realize the magnitude of horror associated with war. He saw to it that Dhauli became an important centre of Buddhist activities. He built several chaityas, stupas and pillars there. He got abodes excavated for the recluse, instructions inscribed for officials, expounded the main principles of dandaniti for the public, provided special status to his new kingdom including the stupas at Dhauli
On the top of the hill, a dazzling white peace pagoda has been built by the Japan Buddha Sangha and the Kalinga Nippon Buddha Sangha in the 1970s.
The nearby region also houses Ashokan edicts and possibly a Stupa at Bhaskareshwar temple at Tankapani road as argued by scholars. The Dhauligiri hills also has an ancient Shiva temple which is the place for mass gathering during Shiva Ratri Celebrations.
The edicts of Ashoka can be found in the rock cuts near Dhauli where it has been expressed about this life an during
The Rock Edicts found here include Nos. I-X, XIV and two separate Kalinga Edicts. In Kalinga Edict VI, he expresses his concern for the "welfare of the whole world". The rock-cut elephant above the Edicts is the earliest Buddhist sculpture of Odisha. The stone elephant shows the animal's foreparts only, though it has a fine sense of form and movement.
Ashoka had a special weakness for Dhauli, where the battle was fought. The Daya river is said to have turned red with the blood of the many deceased after the battle, and enabled Ashoka to realize the magnitude of horror associated with war. He saw to it that Dhauli became an important centre of Buddhist activities. He built several chaityas, stupas and pillars there. He got abodes excavated for the recluse, instructions inscribed for officials, expounded the main principles of dandaniti for the public, provided special status to his new kingdom including the stupas at Dhauli
On the top of the hill, a dazzling white peace pagoda has been built by the Japan Buddha Sangha and the Kalinga Nippon Buddha Sangha in the 1970s.
The nearby region also houses Ashokan edicts and possibly a Stupa at Bhaskareshwar temple at Tankapani road as argued by scholars. The Dhauligiri hills also has an ancient Shiva temple which is the place for mass gathering during Shiva Ratri Celebrations.
