Lalitgiri
Excavations carried out here have brought to surface the ruins of a wonderful brick monastery with beautiful carvings, a Chaitya with bow shaped arches, 4 monasteries and a huge stupa. The Buddhist treasures unearthed from here also include a large number of gold and silver articles, a stone container, earthen pot and traces of Kushana dynasty and Brahmi script. A massive image of the Buddha is a unique find, the image has pursed lips, long ear and wide forehead. It is one of the Buddhist site of India.
Lalitgiri, 90 km away from Bhubaneswar , is one of the points of the Buddhist Triangle popularly known as the Diamond Triangle of Odisha, singing the glory of a past heritage spanning from 3rd Century BC to 15th Century AD.Huge brick monasteries, the remains of a chaitya hall, a number of votive stupa and a renovated stone stupa atop a small rugged sand stone hill dominate the rural greenery around.
The Sculpture shed of the ASI displays a large number of Mahayana Sculptures consisting of life size figures, most of which interestingly contain short inscriptions on them. The standing Buddha figure with the knee - length draperies over the shoulders remind one of the influences of the Gandhara and Mathura Schools of art. The Bodhisattva images are some of the most finely sculpted figures produced in India.
The discovery of golden caskets in 1985 containing sacred bone relics , probably of the Tathagata himself, from the stone stupa atop the hill further enhances the sacredness of the stupa and the place for the devout Buddhists, It also brings to mind the description of Hiuen T'sang about the magnificent stupa on the top of a hill at Puspagiri Mahavihara which emitted brilliant light because of its sacredness. Lalitgiri is one of the oldest Buddhist Centre of Odisha.
Excavations carried out here have brought to surface the ruins of a wonderful brick monastery with beautiful carvings, a Chaitya with bow shaped arches, 4 monasteries and a huge stupa. The Buddhist treasures unearthed from here also include a large number of gold and silver articles, a stone container, earthen pot and traces of Kushana dynasty and Brahmi script. A massive image of the Buddha is a unique find, the image has pursed lips, long ear and wide forehead. It is one of the Buddhist site of India.
Lalitgiri, 90 km away from Bhubaneswar , is one of the points of the Buddhist Triangle popularly known as the Diamond Triangle of Odisha, singing the glory of a past heritage spanning from 3rd Century BC to 15th Century AD.Huge brick monasteries, the remains of a chaitya hall, a number of votive stupa and a renovated stone stupa atop a small rugged sand stone hill dominate the rural greenery around.
The Sculpture shed of the ASI displays a large number of Mahayana Sculptures consisting of life size figures, most of which interestingly contain short inscriptions on them. The standing Buddha figure with the knee - length draperies over the shoulders remind one of the influences of the Gandhara and Mathura Schools of art. The Bodhisattva images are some of the most finely sculpted figures produced in India.
The discovery of golden caskets in 1985 containing sacred bone relics , probably of the Tathagata himself, from the stone stupa atop the hill further enhances the sacredness of the stupa and the place for the devout Buddhists, It also brings to mind the description of Hiuen T'sang about the magnificent stupa on the top of a hill at Puspagiri Mahavihara which emitted brilliant light because of its sacredness. Lalitgiri is one of the oldest Buddhist Centre of Odisha.
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