Jajpur/Chandikhole: A 15-feet-high Buddhist stupa, four broken Buddha sculptures, several household articles, and clay utensils were unearthed during the ongoing excavation on top of the Parabhadi hill near Chandikhole in Jajpur district. According to historians, the Buddhist stupa is 1,500 years old. Discovery of the stupa has come as a surprise in the area making people wonder how such a high dome could be built on the hilltop which is 140 metre above sea level.
The recovered Buddha sculptures have been kept in the Buddhist museum at Lalitgiri. Parabhadi hill is an important Buddhist site in the Diamond triangle of Odisha comprising three clusters of hills in Jajpur and Kendrapara districts namely Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri, and Udayagiri. The hill could not be excavated till now because of its location and height. The site was discovered between 1975 and 1985 and archaeologists had deemed it to be a Buddhist settlement due to the presence of more than three rock-cut caves, archaeological remains, and a structure that looked like a stupa on the hilltop.
Several caves had Buddhist artifacts while ancient idols of Hindu deities had also been recovered. However, the ASI authorities woke up after the mining of khondalite stones began on the hill for ABADHA project in Srimandir. As a result, the excavation works on the hill were undertaken leading to the discovery. Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak, the Odisha chief of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) said that the stupa is believed to be from the 7th or 8th century and may date earlier on the basis of findings from the excavation. The broken sculptures are believed to be of Ratnsambhava but the actual truth can be ascertained after further research and documentation.
Meanwhile, the excavation work which was carried out for over a month has been completed and the documentation works started, ASI officials said. Reports said that the Landa hill, Lalitgiri and Badaphad (Sukhuapada), Olasuni, Gangi, and Regidi (Bandereswar) are important sites having rich Buddhist heritage. Meanwhile, the ASI has raised concerns over mining on the hill both by private parties and Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) for khondalite stones. The hill has been leased out to OMC for ABADHA project.
However, rampant mining is destroying the Buddhist remains as the miners are using heavy earth-moving equipment to extract stones and in the process damaging the historical artifacts. Locals and historians alike have demanded to declare Parabhadi and its adjoining areas like Hatikhal, Ghantiasuni, Sukhuapada, Keshraipur, and Languli mutt as a corridor to conserve the rich Buddhist heritage and take up peripheral development of the area by involving the locals.