Jaugada

After Dhauli Hills, Jaugada Hill in Ganjam District is the second place where one of the famous rock edicts of emperor Ashoka is located. Located at a distance of 30 km from Berhampur, Jaugada was also an ancient fortified settlement that had boundary walls with four main gates each. It was a settlement similar to Sisupalgarh in Bhubaneswar. The fort is believed to have been built by Duryodhan. Inside the fort, there are five stone images worshipped in the temple of Gupteswar. Locals believe the five images represent the five Pandavas. Jaugada Hill, a part of the Malati Range of hills, has a large clean surface of granite where there is an Ashokan edict that provides valuable information about the pattern of administration followed by the Kalingan emperor. The site is preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India. Few kilometres from Jaudaga, visitors can visit the ruins of an ancient fort and a temple at Kesarpali near Buguda. Here, there is a Biranchinarayan Temple with an exquisitely carved wooden 'Jagamohan' (prayer hall of a temple) and mural paintings on stories from Ramayana. Another site Buddhakhol is located just two km away from Jaugada where there are various images of Buddhist pantheon along with small Shaivite shrines. On the way to the site from Berhampur or Chhatrapur, one can also see the Tara Tarini Temple, which is one of the famous shrines of Shakti in south Odisha.