Published: 3rd Mar, 2023
Context
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has identified a 1,300-year-old stupa, in the middle of a mining site in Odisha’s Jajpur district from where Khondalite stones were supplied for the beautification project around the 12th Century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
About
- The stupa could be 5-metre tall and initial assessment showed it may belong to the 7 th or 8 th century.
- The stupa found is said to the part of Lalitgiri Buddhist site.
- The ASI has asked to stop the mining activity in the area for excavation of Khondalite stones.
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Khondalite stones were widely used in ancient temple complexes. The State government had come up with an ambitious plan to spend ?3,208 crore under the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme in three years to transform Puri into a world heritage city using these stones. |
Lalitgiri Buddhist site:
- Lalitgiri is one of the earliest Buddhist sites of Orissa shows the cultural continuity right from the post Mauryan period to 13th century A.D without any break.
- The Lalitgiri site had its continuation from 2nd century B.C to 14th century A.D.
- The development of Buddhism in Lalitgiri could be known from the existing cave monuments such as three numbers of well-built monasteries, Mahastupa, Chaitya, and a plethora of small stupas.
- The ancient Mahastupa yielded bone Relic Caskets, wrapped in golden foil and one sealing revealed the name Chandraditya Mahavihara.
- It also encompasses Mahachaitya like Nagarjunkonda of Andhrapradesh and a series of well-built monasteries for the monks.
- Besides, sculptures, inscriptions of the Kushana Empire, Gupta and Post-Gupta periods indicate its patronage. The site has a continuous history of 1500 years.
- The sculptures talk about the phases of Buddhism i.e Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana
Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme:
- The project will include Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) building redevelopment, a 600-capacity Srimandir reception centre, Jagannath cultural centre, Badadanda heritage streetscape, beachfront development, Puri lake, Musa river revival plan, etc.
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