Lalitgiri | Cuttack | Odisha | India
Laiitgiri is situated on the Birupa Gobari Chitrotpala(rivers) valley under the Mahanga Thana (P.S.) of Cuttack district Odisha and 40 kms away from the city of Cuttack . This place has been archaeologically attested to be one of the fore most and formidable Buddhist establishments in the world, on the basis of the latest archaeological finds unearthed from the excavations, the antiquity of the splendid Buddhist site may well go back to the Maurya period* (3rd Century B.C.)
The site is amply corroborated not only by the huge bulk of the loose Buddhist sculptures and monolithic votive stupas lying scattered all over the hills.
From these investigations, it has been inferred that Lalitgiri, one of the earliest Buddhist sites in Orissa, maintained a continuous cultural sequence starting from the post Mauryan period (322–185 BC) till 13th century AD.It is also inferred that this site maintained a continuous of presence of Buddhism, unbroken, from 3rd century BC to 10th century AD - 900 years.
The excavations carried out by the ASI at Lalitgiri have unearthed remnants of a large stupa on the hill. Within the stupa, two rare stone caskets were found with relics of Buddha; this was the first such find in Eastern India. The stone caskets, like Chinese Puzzle boxes, made of Khondalite stone, revealed three other boxes within them, made of steatite, silver and gold respectively; the gold casket, which is the last one, contained a relic or dhatu in the form of a small piece of bone.
Another interesting find is that of an east facing apsidal chaityagriha, built of bricks, 33 by 11 metres (108 ft × 36 ft) in size with 3.3 metres (11 ft)-thick walls. This edifice, the first such Buddhist structure found in Odisha, contains a circular stupa at its center. Also found were a series of Kushana Brahmi inscriptions made on shells with cuts on moonstone at the periphery of the edifice. Another find is a piece of a pillar railing with a lens-shaped decoration with the theme of a half lotus medallion. From these finds it is inferred that such structures belonged from the early Christian era to 6th–7th century period.
Also found were remnants of four monasteries. The first and the largest monastery, facing east, a two storied structure measuring 36 square metres (390 sq ft), has at its center a 12.9 metres (42 ft) square open space; it is dated to 10th–11th century AD. Adjoining the monastery at the rear end is a rainwater cistern built of bricks. The second monastery, in the northern extremity of the hill, is believed to have been built when Buddhism was losing its importance in Lalitgiri. The third monastery faces south-east and has dimensions of 28 by 27 metres (92 ft × 89 ft) with a central open space of 8 square metres (86 sq ft) and represents the end stages of apsidal chaitya. The fourth monastery, 30 square metres (320 sq ft), in size, has many large sized Buddha heads diefied in the sanctum sanctorum. A terracotta monastic seal with the inscription "Sri Chandraditya Vihara Samagra Arya Vikshu Sanghasa" is dated to the 9th–10th century AD. The antiquities unearthed include a plethora of images of Buddha in different meditative forms from the Mahayana Buddhism period. The finds also include a gold pendant, silver jewellery, stone tablets with imprints of Ganesha and Mahisasurmardini, a seal matrix-cum-pendant, and a small image of Avalokiteśvara.
References from - Buddhist Heritage of Orissa- Dr Bimalendu Mohanty , Wikipedia , Shodhganga ,...
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