In about 260 BC, 11 of of Ashoka’s 14 famous edicts were carved onto a rock at Dhauli, 8km south of Bhubaneswar. Above the edicts, the earliest Buddhist sculpture in Odisha – a carved elephant representing Buddha – emerges from a rock. From the Dhauli turn-off, accessed by Bhubaneswar-Puri buses (₹15, 30 minutes), it’s a tree-shaded 3km walk or shared/private autorickshaw ride (₹10/100) to the rock edicts and then a short, steep walk to the stupa. Uber drop-off costs around ₹180.
Just beyond the rock edicts, each translated into English, is the huge, white Shanti Stupa (Peace Pagoda), built by Japanese monks in 1972 on a hill to the right. Older Buddhist reliefs are set into the modern structure, and there are great views of the surrounding countryside from the top.