Dhauligiri is a peaceful and tranquil environment located just 6 km from Bhubaneswar city, lies the great Buddhist shrine of Dhauli, famous for the rock edicts of Ashok. It was here, at the foothills by the side of the river Daya, that the valiant people of Kalinga defended their territory and turned the river water red with blood. It was located here after the Kalinga conquest in 261 AD that Ashok, the terrible was transformed into Ashoka, the compassionate who championed the cause of Buddhism. Dhauligiri is a tourist attraction places near Bhubaneswar.
The Kalinga war, which had caused immense bloodshed, but subsequently changed the mind of Ashoka from Chandashoka to Dharmashoka. The earliest rock-cut Indian sculpture in the shape of a magnificent elephant out from a solid rock atop, the Ashoka rock edict at Dhauli and the peace pagoda built by the Japanese are among the major attractions.
Dhauli attained importance due to the engraving of the Ashokan inscription on the rock beneath the elephant. This elephant is regarded as Buddhistic along the inscription which was issued after Ashok adopted Buddhism. It contains eleven out of the well-known set of Fourteen Rock edicts found within the confines of his empire. The first specimen of art in stone is found here, in the shape of the elephant sculpture. It depicts the forepart of an elephant coming out of a cave. Dhauligiri Hill Station is one of the tourist places in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
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