Odisha has a rich Buddhist heritage. Ratnagiri, part of the ‘Diamond Triangle’ of Ratnagiri, Udaygiri, and Lalitgiri, had a flourishing monastery where monks of the Vajrayana sect of Buddhism lived during the reign of the Bhauma-Kara kings.
Similar head found in 2016.
The recent discovery of three colossal Buddha heads, a giant palm, an ancient wall, and some inscriptions have underlined the significance of Ratnagiri in Odisha’s Jajpur district as a prominent Buddhist historical site.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has now decided to take up fresh surveys at the Ratnagiri Buddhist heritage site more than 60 years after it was first excavated.
What is the Ratnagiri site and its significance, what is the history of Buddhism in Odisha, and how has the ASI approached the task of unearthing this past?
Hill of Jewels in Diamond Triangle
Ratnagiri, literally “Hill of Jewels”, is located between two rivers, the Brahmani and its tributary Birupa, which join together a little ahead and proceed to fall in the Bay of Bengal amid the Bhitarkanika mangrove wetlands.
Ratnagiri, one of the most well excavated Buddhist sites in the state, is one of the three points of Odisha’s famous Diamond Triangle along with Udaygiri and Lalitgiri. All three Buddhist heritage sites are located close to each other in the Jajpur and Cuttack districts of southeastern Odisha.
The earliest historical structures excavated at the Diamond Triangle sites date to the 5th century CE, during the reign of Narasimhagupta Baladitya (c.495-530 CE). However Buddhism received the most patronage at these sites between the 8th and 10th centuries CE under the Bhauma-Kara (or Kara) dynasty, said Sunil Patnaik, a researcher of Buddhism and secretary of the Odisha Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies. The sites started to decline by the 13th century.
The Ratnagiri site is believed to be an important early centre of the Vajrayana (or Tantrayana) school of Buddhism, Patnaik, who is part of the current excavation team, said. Vajrayana Buddhism (Thunderbolt Vehicle) which involves mystical practices and concepts, eventually spread across Himalayan belt and beyond.
The Ratnagiri monastery is the only Buddhist monastery in India with a curvilinear roof. Historical evidence suggests that at its peak, the monastery was home to around 500 monks, who followed the Tantrayana form of Buddhism.
What excavations have found, and seek to discover
Although the site was documented as a historical site in 1905, the first excavations were carried out between 1958 and 1961 by Debala Mitra, an archaeologist who eventually served as ASI’s first woman director general (1981-83).
The excavations unearthed a sprawling complex containing two monasteries, large numbers of votive and commemorative stupas, a temple, several other structures, and an inscription.
However, the site was not excavated further after 1961, even though a number of other structures and sculptures were partially visible. Instead, the ASI turned its attention to other Buddhist sites in Odisha.
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D B Garnayak, the ASI’s Puri circle superintendent, said that the objective of the fresh excavations is to fully unearth the partially-visible structures. The three colossal Buddha heads and other findings have already been unearthed, Garnayak said.
ASI officials said the renewed excavations will help to place the colossal Buddha heads in the cultural framework of the site. Also, the ASI hopes to get a better understanding of the ceramic assemblage of the site, Garnayak said.
Ceramic assemblage is a collection of pottery and ceramic artefacts found at an archaeological site. According to experts, the ceramic assemblage can throw light on human activities, cultural practices, economic exchanges, and technological advancements in ancient times.
Quest for links to Southeast Asian cultures
Ancient Kalinga (modern Odisha) had a rich maritime culture and established connections with Southeast Asia, including Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). From sites like Ratnagiri, Buddhism spread across the Bay of Bengal region. The ASI will also look for evidence of material culture (physical objects and architecture) of Southeast Asian origin or beyond at the site, Garnayak said.
Historical evidence suggests that Buddhist scholars from Kalinga travelled across Southeast Asia. Evidence of cultural practices from Kalinga have been found in Java, Bali, Sumatra, and Ceylon. The Bali Jatra, literally “voyage to Bali”, a seven-day annual festival in Cuttack, commemorates the 2,000-year-old maritime and cultural links between Kalinga and Bali and other regions around the Bay of Bengal.
Other Buddhist sites in Odisha
Besides the Diamond triangle, Odisha has a number of other popular Buddhist sites such as Dhauli near Bhubaneswar, Kuruma near the Konark Sun Temple, Langudi and Kayama in Jajpur district, Tarapur in Puri district, etc.
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There are famous Asokan rock edicts at Dhauli and Jaugada in Ganjam. Asoka, the Mauryan Emperor of Magadha (c.268-232 BCE), turned to Buddhism and pacifism after witnessing the massive suffering of war that resulted from his conquest of Kalinga. The battle, which ended in c.261 BCE, is believed to have been fought on the banks of the Daya river, close to Dhauli.
