CUTTACK: Ancient rock-cut sculptures have always found a special mention in the history of Indian architecture. Many of these ancient structures are closely associated with several religions and religious activities.
Odisha preserves many such rock-cut sculptures from ancient times, some of which are found in Khandagiri and Udayagiri caves in Bhubaneswar and few other places in the state. However, many more still remain unexplored unexcavated and unnoticed.
Heritage enthusiast Deepak Kumar Nayak was able to explore few such ancient rock-cut structures in a small hillock in the bank of Sapua River about 4 kms away from Athagarh town in Cuttack. He was assisted by a young enthusiast Suman Prakash Swain.
Interacting with OrissaPost, Deepak says, “I have heard from few elders of Athagarh town about the rock cut sculptures found in a small hillock know as Ganesh Pahada or Ganeswar Mundia (in Samasarpur village) close to Athagarh.”
The duo took Sareet Swain’s (a local) help to reach the place. They found many age-old sculptures, some identifiable while some not. The identifiable sculptures include four-armed Vishnu, a circular rock-cut structure believed to be Surya, a Shiva Linga, a Varahi shrine, a rat & a Ganesha shrine (inside Sapua river). All of these ancient sculptures were found in a decaying state.
Deepak further adds that the ancient sculptures may date back to early historic period or Before Christ (BC) era. There used to be a time when architectural technologies were not so developed and usage of tools to create fine stone architectures were limited.These images might be from that period when the architects had limited resources to construct sculptures that represent their religious belief.As per Sareet, there were also sculptures of Goddess Yamuna & Saraswati those remain lost now due to unknown reasons. Locals of Samasarpur village are urging government & archaeological organisations to protect these ancient structures present nearby to their villages.
Chaitali Shome, OP