Archaeologists in Jaipur District in the Indian state of Odisha have unearthed a number of ancient Buddhist sculptures. According to the Odisha Sun Times, the renowned Buddhist researcher and historian and the principal of Sahaspur College, Dr. Harish Chandra Prusty, discovered the sculptures on the premises of Baujang Naga mutt in Bikramtiran panchayat under Badachana block in Jaipur. The local daily reported that Dr. Prusty began his excavation and research of the premises after a 40-meter-square structure made of baked brick and stone was found. Following the discovery, Dr. Prusty told the Odisha Sun Times that the brick sculptures unearthed there bear a resemblance to others discovered in Udayagiri, Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri, Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Nagarjunkonda, and can therefore be dated to the same period.
Statue of a Buddhist deity in Ratnagiri. From wikipedia.org
The local daily further reported that in 2012, two Buddhist caves were discovered in Jaipur that show similarities to those found by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in hillocks at Neulipur, Kaima, Deuli, Gokarneswar, Brajagiri, Biddhalinga, Lalitgiri, and Udayagiri in Odisha State some 30 years back. Realizing the importance of the newly discovered site, Dr. Prusty thus urged the state government to take measures to preserve it.
The recent discovery included two sculptures of the Buddha made of black stone, respectively measuring 8 feet and 7 feet in length and bearing inscriptions, and two sculptures with lotus flowers at the base measuring 1.6 feet each.
According to the report, from the 7th to the 11th century, Odisha was a flourishing Buddhist region under the Bhaumakara and Somvamshi dynasties, but the religion declined there when the dynasties fell. It is believed that there may be other Buddhist heritage in the state awaiting excavation. Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri, and Udayagiri, also in Jaipur, are already known to be important repositories of ancient Buddhist art. Odisha Diary TV reported that the ASI, under the supervision of Debdata Mitra, discovered several Buddha statues in these areas between 1957 and 1961, as well as the remains of Buddhist edifices and Vajrayana Buddhist images.
Giant Buddha head in Ratnagiri. From wikipedia.org
Dr. Bimalendu Mohanty, the vice president of the Mahabodhi Society of India and the former vice chancellor of Utkal University of Culture, explained on Odisha Diary TV in November 2014 that Buddhist art achieved a high degree of excellence under the Bhaumakaras. However, he lamented that “Langudi [another Buddhist historical site in the region] is being neglected by the government,” adding that “many valuable idols are littered on the earth.” In fact, this is a common problem in several other historical sites in India. Dr. Mohanty complained that the authorities are not stepping forward to protect the Langudi site, and also stated that some locals are using the excavation sites as toilets.
Meanwhile, from 13–15 February, the Department of Tourism organized an international conference in Odisha’s capital, Bhubaneswar, on the state’s historical Buddhist sites. Participants included professors from Japan, the University of Delhi, Banaras Hindu University, and Lucknow University, tour operators from Delhi and Varanasi, and local scholars and tour operators from Odisha. The three-day conference, which was divided into several sessions—including presentations, case studies, marketing, tourism potential, a cultural program, and field trips—was inaugurated by Odisha’s chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, and was held alongside a photographic exhibition of the state’s Buddhist heritage. The purpose of the conference was reportedly to promote the historical sites in the region through tourism, and tour operators and travel agencies were therefore urged to participate.