The Buddhist Heritage of Orissa

Rohan L. Jayetilleke
in Orissa

As one enters the site the first sight is of a huge image of God Lokeswara holding a lotus and standing in the open air at the foot of the hill it is now profusely pock-marked due to elemental impacts through the centuries of being in the open air.

The modern eastern State of Orissa (Kalinga) held aloft the banner of Dhamma to the whole world. The ancient kingdom of Kalinga was composed of Kalinga, Kungada, Utkal and Koshaka principalities which were ruled by respective kings, in the sixth century BC. During the time of the Buddha, this kingdom was flourishing as a trade centre, of overland and sea faring traders, with roads running from Kalinga to central and western India.

The two merchant brothers (Tapassu and Bhalluka, hailing from Utkal were on a trade mission with a fleet of caravans. Once they reached Gaya, their caravans were immobilised. In order to obtain the blessings of the Rajayatana tree deity, to overcome their impediment, saw a recluse seated under the tree and mistook him to be a tree god. Having, met the recluse, they learnt that it was the Buddha, who had attained the enlightenment under the Sri Maha Bodhi of Gaya, a few yards away from the tree in the valley, they offered him ‘madhu-pindika’ cereals pounded and fried and mixed with bees’ honey, from their stock in trade.

Thereafter, they took refuge of Buddha and Dhamma (Sangha) had not been formed yet) as the Buddha was spending his seventh week after the Enlightenment and became the first two lay disciples (upasakas) of the Buddha.

They asked the Buddha for a momento to venerate Him and were given eight handfuls of His hair. Thereafter, their caravans became mobilised and proceeded in their journey. These two merchants took the sacred hair relics, and raised stupas enshrining them at their home town in Kalinga Desha, known as Utkal or Odra, to their city Asitanjana, and on their sea-faring trade reached Rangoon, Burma and raised another stupa enshrine a part of the sacred hair relics, this stupa is now known as Shwedagon Pagoda of Myanmar covered with nearly 2,000 sheets of gold and on reaching the Sri Lanka port of Gokanna (Trincomalee) they raised a similar stupa at Tiriyaya, Kuchchaveli, with some sacred hair relics and the stupa came to be known as Girihadunseya.

After the Mahaparinibbana of the Buddha at Kusinara, Brahman Dona, amicably settled the rival claims of kings for the possessions of the sacred relics of the Buddha. He distributed the sacred relics with a measuring receptacle and the kings raised stupas enshrining them in their respective kingdoms. These eight stupas were raised by the kings, namely Mallians of Kusinara, King Ajasatta of Magadha, Lichchavis of Vaishali, Sakyans of Kapilavastu, Koliyans of Ramagrama (Nepal), Brahman of Vetha Island, Mallians of Pava.

The Dhatavams of 310 AD, in addition there were the Sacred Tooth Relics of the Buddha, one of which was taken to heaven for worship, and another to Gandhara in north western India and one each to Kalinga and the land of the Nagas for worship. One sacred Tooth Relic was brought by one Khema to Kalinga to the court of King Brahamadatta and handed over to the king, who built a gigantic chaitya in his capital city and named the city as Dantapura. The king without enshrining the Sacred Tooth Relic in the chaitya had it in a golden casket for his personal worship. (Sunil Patnaik, ‘Buddhist Heritage of Orissa’, published in 2000 by Bhavan Mayur Publications, pp. 19-20).

Thus Orissa became the cynosure of Buddhist devotees of Asia.

Lokeswara Temple at Udayagiri

The largest Buddhist complex of Orissa is about 5km South-west of Gopalpur on the Birupa river and is having extensive remains of Buddhist complexes. As one enters the site the first sight is of a huge image of God Lokeswara holding a lotus and standing in the open air at the foot of the hill it is now profusely pock-marked due to elemental impacts through the centuries of being in the open air.

A little distance away are statues of Buddhist deities, and some broken statues lie on the ground. There is a massive stupa and in the field right behind is another huge image of a deity. Near the point of entry to the tall stupa on the left, a flight of steps leads down to a pond.

A large flight of stairs leads upto an expensive monastic complex, adorned a huge stupa in front of it, this brick-build stupa five meters in height stands on a square platform with niches to accommodate images of the Buddha.

The monastery has an open air large centre courtyard with a stone paved veranda and a shrine chamber. Inside the shrine chamber is a huge image of the Buddha flanked by two images of Buddhist deities on either side. The second monastery is double storeyed and has cells for monks, a shrine room and a courtyard. On the back wall is an upper shrine chamber too.

Lalitgiri Buddha Relic Casket

As one travells on the Express National Highway, from it branches out a narrow village track, a little away from Udayagiri monastic complex and Ratnagiri monastic complex, passing through small hamlets of total innocence, wherein amity and plurality in all spheres pervades and the main occupation of the people being agriculture Monastic Complex.

Lalitagiri in ancient times was one of the principal seats of Buddhist studies and practice, in Orissa as a whole, and where even Sinhala bhikkhus, during the time of Chola occupation of Anuradhapura sought safe refuge. In the extensive excavations of the site by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1985-1986, the remains of the ancient monuments were brought to light.

In the excavations of the large stupa the archaeologists, recovered a stone votive shaped small stupa with an upper lid, On opening the upper lid was found a silver casket and inside the silver casket was a small gold casket enshrining the sacred relics of the Buddha with no epigraphical indication.

This relic casket is now locked in an iron-safe and not exhibited to visitors.