Jaugada Fort
Purushottampur, Berhampur
About this place
Jaugada Fort is an archaeological treasure located 8 km from Purushottampur. The site holds the second edict of Emperor Ashoka inscribed in Prakrit-Brahmi script on rock surfaces, making it a critical Buddhist heritage site. Legend attributes the five stone images found here to the five Pandavas from the Mahabharata epic. The fort complex served as a center of both Buddhist and Saivite religious practices, demonstrating ancient communal harmony.
Site of Ashoka's second Odisha Rock Edict (Prakrit-Brahmi script); only two Ashokan edicts in Odisha (Dhauli and Jaugada); Buddhist-Saivite heritage coexistence
261 BCE (Ashokan rock edicts); ancient Kalinga fort (pre-Ashokan, c. 4th–3rd century BCE) · Earthen rampart fort; Ashokan rock-cut inscription