Monalisa Patsanai
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: Orissa was home to a thriving culture that had robust relations with Southeast Asian countries even in the second century BC. Archaeologists have come to the conclusion based on excavation and dating of the Buddhist site at Aragarh.
Sunil Patnaik, who is heading excavation at Aragarh (into its second phase this year) discussed findings till date on the concluding day of a two-day national seminar organised by Odishan Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies (OIMSEAS) in association with PG department of ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology of Utkal University, in the city, Tuesday.
“Recent excavation at the site and information gathered through discussions with fellow archaeologists suggest that Aragarh is the earliest buddhist site the entire east coast region — from Tamralipti (now Tamluk) to Godavari belt — where such sites exist.”
The pattern of construction of the stupa and its architecture, the archaeologist claims, are similar to the earliest stupas found in India such as those in Bairat and Vaishali. “The site is being excavated further, and only after all the stones and pillars are placed in the right order can we estimate the size and understand design of the stupa,” Patnaik said.
According to him, the stupa may have been built by Emperor Ashoka in his efforts to spread Buddhism. “Ashoka started constructing Buddhist monuments across India after the Kalinga War. He would have built the stupa at Aragarh around that time in styles of contemporary Indian art and architecture.”
Archaeologists also believe the site was a place of worship for the Theravada Buddhists and not members of the Hinayana sect. “Buddhism is likely to have expanded to places such as Dhaulagiri, Lalitgiri, Langudi and towards Kalingapatnam (from Aragarh). The site has helped us understand the life and culture of Orissa of that period; we were an advanced culture. We were able to communicate with others and had good relations with people from South East Asia. The site is offering lots of evidence regarding this,” Patnaik said.
Excavation in recent times have spread to the centre of the stupa and have yielded many artefacts. “The pradakshina path (path for circumambulation) is central to stupa architecture. We have excavated this path and have also found some artefacts bearing symbols and other archaeological evidence. Some inscriptions also bear the swastika,” Patnaik said and added, “We are yet to decipher these inscriptions.” The evidence unearthed also indicates that the site has “undergone much destruction”.
The excavation has also uncovered much information regarding the architecture of the stupa. The stupa is believed to have stood above three platforms. “A comparative study is under way. We feel the Aragarh stupa shares similarities with the Borobudur stupa in Java, Indonesia,” Patnaik said.
Other experts, too, believe Aragarh is a site of historical significance. “In Orissa we mostly find circular stupas and this is the second square stupa unearthed besides the one in Langudi. Both stupas fall within the same time frame. Further research will be required before we come to a conclusion,” Sanjay Acharya, HoD of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Utkal University, said.
