ASI has discovered a Buddhist statue dating back to the 8th-9th century AD in Parbata Panasura village near Ratnagiri in Jajapur district. The Vajrasattva
stone sculpture is made of Kondalat stone and is currently worshipped as Sree Sree Bana Madhava in a local temple.
“Vajrasattva is the central deity of Vajrayana Buddhism and represents wisdom and purity,” said Dibishada Brajasundar Garnayak, head of archaeology at ASI’s Puri circle. The discovery was made during the five-month excavation by ASI in Ratnagiri, following the excavation of a large number of Buddha statues and artifacts from a nearby hillock.
ASI plans to resume excavation work next year. The Ratnagiri Museum, established by ASI in 1998, houses a large collection of Buddhist artifacts including sculptures, pottery, reliquary jars and clay plaques. “We plan to collect precious Buddha images from the village temples for display in the museum. But we need the cooperation of the villagers who have revered these relics for generations,” said Garnayak.
Interestingly, many Hindu communities around Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udayagiri worship Buddha images in their temples. “In the Hindu tradition, Buddha is considered to be the ninth incarnation of Vishnu, which explains the presence of Buddha images in many temples,” explained Harish Chandra Prusti, a former university president and a well-known researcher.
