Jajpur: A rare Ramayana memorial stone has been discovered near the banks of a pond at the foothills of Mahavinayak Hill in Jajpur district recently by the members of the Rediscover Lost Heritage Trust (RLHT).
Acting on information provided by Mahavinayak Temple servitor Kamal Lochan Panda, RLHT members, including Deepak Kumar Nayak, Nrupati Nihar Sial, and Suman Prakash Swain, identified the stone as a significant ancient relic.
Speaking about the discovery, Nayak stated that various types of memorial stones are found across the state and other parts of India.
These stones sometimes appear as hero stones (Veerashila), commemorating warriors who sacrificed their lives in battle, while at other times they depict historical or mythological events.
However, memorial stones depicting characters or narratives from the Ramayana are extremely rare in Odisha.
The discovered stone, measuring approximately 2 feet in height and 1 foot in width, features an engraving of Lord Hanuman holding a mace and a mountain.
Above this, an image of Lord Rama as an archer is carved.
While depictions of the Ramayana are commonly found in temple architecture and traditional art across Odisha, the portrayal of its central characters on a standalone memorial stone is exceptionally rare, Nayak added.
Chandikhole is a historically rich region that showcases a confluence of both Buddhist and Hindu archaeological heritage.
The Mahavinayak Temple is believed to have been originally constructed during the Eastern Ganga period and later destroyed during external invasions.
The present structure has been rebuilt over the remains of the earlier temple.
Although it is difficult to precisely determine the age of the memorial stone, considering the historical background of the temple, there is a strong possibility that it dates back to the Eastern Ganga period, Sial stated.
