Flourished under the patronage of legendary king Ashoka, the
kingdoms of Magadh and Kalinga became important centers from where Buddhism
spread to the outside world. Present day areas of Bihar-Jharkhand used to be
the kingdom of Magadh and parts of Odisha-Andhra Pradesh composed Kalinga
kingdom. At their peak these places were often referred as most prosperous
regions on the earth and were full of amazing temples and universities imparting
ancient Indian knowledge. However, with passage of time dust accumulated on
these sites and these places gradually faded out from the eye of common people.
In fact, many got buried with layers of earth and since then have been waiting to
get resurfaced in future.
With the development coming to these areas,
many of these extinct places are coming to life. One of the such places I came
to know during one of my visit to this part with lots and lots of things to
discover was Lalitgiri. Lalitgiri is situated at a distance of 10 kilometers beyond
the River Virupa in Cuttack district, about 90 kilometers from Bhubaneswar
which is the capital of Odisha state.
Excavations in this region have indicated towards existence
of very ancient Buddhist complex. With the discovery of Lalitgiri, and
stitching together the chronology of event with iconographical similarities,
the timeline of Lalitgiri goes back to the 2nd century BC. Based on
this, Lalitgiri can be safely considered as one of the most ancient Buddhist
establishments. So I was about to walk into one of the lost chapters in our
history, with due excitement.
Remains of the monasteries are the
first to come across your way as soon as you enter the premises. The monasteries consist of a number of small rooms which
are virtually empty (no cabinet shelfs or statues), probably must have served
as residential dormitories for the students. Most of the structures
retain their unique original features with no signs of physical damages.
Sometimes, I wondered if these structures were actually excavated or built
newly. Combination of brick work and stones in the construction is particularly
notable as the structure is still intact and shows no signs of deterioration
even after over 2000 years.
The monuments unearthed at Lalitgiri
are unique. The most important part of the Lalitgiri complex discovered are the
ruins of a temple surrounded by monasteries and stupas. Inside this temple, work
of pure abstract is the half-bodied statue of Lord Buddha, head is missing.
Check carefully statue is not carved out of single stone, it has been worked
out in parts and assembled together. Looks like ravaged by attackers as head has
not been located yet.
Interestingly, such type of huge assembled statue of Lord Buddha has also been discovered
at nearby site Udaygiri. One room temple is surrounded by number of rooms where
students used to stay and learn ancient Indian knowledge of Vedas. Such types of temple were also
constructed near Mathura and Taxila as well as on the nearby Udayagiri hill
around the 2nd century BC. Ichnographically, Lalitgiri sculptures
resemble Java and Southeast Asian prototypes.
There are four
monasteries excavated here besides a Chaityagriha (temple or a prayer hall). Walking around the Chaityagriha, I was thinking
on probably how the place was used in those times as a Amphitheatre or
Conference hall.
All of a sudden I observed HUGE caskets. The most gripping moment of my exploration,
these aged stone caskets are believed to be containing relics of none other
than Buddha. Basically its antiquity and its silver and gold contents have led
to speculations that these contain relics of Lord Buddha. These caskets were reportedly unearthed
during the excavations from the year 1985 to
1992 by ASI. These stone caskets contained four containers made of khondalite,
steatite, silver and gold inside them.
Time was limited, so I moved ahead further to find a set of stairs. Climbing up the stairs, I came across a huge circular stupa from where one can get a splendid pigeon eye view of the lush green landscapes. With such a prominent establishment being unearthed, it seems that many pages from our rich history will finally see the light of the day. Hiuen T'sang, the famed Chinese traveler of the 7th Century A.D. had mentioned about a magnificent stupa on top of a hill at Puspagiri, Mahavihara which emitted a brilliant light because of its sacredness. The discovery of caskets containing sacred relics, probably of the Tathagata himself, from the stone stupa at the top of the hill, further reinforces the sacredness of the stupa as well as of Lalitgiri for Buddhists around the world.
"On the basis of archaeological
materials including inscriptions, brought to light by excavation, Langudi hill
in Jajpur district may be identified as Puspagiri".
A paradise for the archaeologists,
this 2nd century BC complex has preserved some wonderful sculptures
of that era. In addition, there
is a museum which displays a large number of Mahayana sculptures consisting of colossal
Buddha figures, huge Boddhisattva statues, statues of Tara, Jambhala and
others. The museum houses varieties of sculptures and the casket with Buddha’s
remains. I tried to see the gold and precious stone I was told were in this
casket.
The artifacts looked polished despite
their age of existence and length of unearthed excavation. This was one strange statue carved with
stairs like feature just below the center. Was confused, but looks like this
must have been an important block in the engineered structure serving some
dedicated purpose, probably part of some interlocking mechanism.
The Sleeping Buddha figures, with knee length draperies over the shoulders remind one of the influence of the Gandhara and Mathura school of art. Felt amazed at these sculptured magnificent wonders in ancient India. Another sculpture depicting Sun God towering over the mountains.
The Sleeping Buddha figures, with knee length draperies over the shoulders remind one of the influence of the Gandhara and Mathura school of art. Felt amazed at these sculptured magnificent wonders in ancient India. Another sculpture depicting Sun God towering over the mountains.
Numerous excavations
done by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have related this region with
the origin point of Buddhism. Among
the many noteworthy discoveries at this site are black polished inscribed
pieces of pottery of Ashokan Brahmi script and a number of inscriptional
evidence such as Kushan inscriptions, ornamental Brahmi etc. All such
discoveries have contributed in establishing Lalitgiri as a flourishing
Buddhist center of the 2nd century BC.
Amazing isn’t it, a! So next time when
plan for Bhubaneshwar (85 km.) or Puri, may be you can keep a day for this side. Along
with Lalitgiri, there are similar sites of Udaygiri and Ratnagiri to be
explored in the close vicinity. Regular buses are not available as these sites are at some distance from the highway and number of visitors are actually negligible. Its better to hire a taxi for these 3 sites.
Find the directions from Cuttack:
Keep Exploring Guys. Along the Eastern Coast of India, one more similar budhist complex has also been found at Thotlakonda (near to Vizag), approx. 500 km. from Lalitgiri.
Keep Exploring Guys. Along the Eastern Coast of India, one more similar budhist complex has also been found at Thotlakonda (near to Vizag), approx. 500 km. from Lalitgiri.

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