New Buddhist sites on government radar
- Culture department push for spiritual tourism
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Bhubaneswar, July 31: Encouraged by the discovery of a Buddhist site in Jajpur recently,
the state culture department has now decided to begin further excavations in six more sites.

A team of archaeologists had found an inscribed monolithic stupa on top of the Panturi hill
and several non-monolithic stupas in at Langudi, Tarapur, Deuli Kayama Hills, Neulipur,
Bajragiri, Kantigadia and Panturi.

The names of Tapasu and Bhallika, the first two disciples of Lord Buddha, were found inscribed
in Brahmi on the rocks.

Pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang in his many reports on Emperor Ashoka had mentioned that Ashoka had
ordered the construction of 10 stupas in Odra or present day Orissa.

Director of the Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies Debraj Pradhan believes that
the stupas authenticate the Chinese traveller's writing.

Culture minister S.N. Patro said excavation and preservation of Buddhist sites are complete
in Kaima, Deuli and Tarapur.

The department has now decided that the archaeology wing would take up the work at Deulapur,
Neulapur, Bajragiri, Kantigadi, Panturi and Radhanagar — the six new sites.

The tourism department has been requested to declare these spots as a Buddhist tourism circuit,
said the minister adding that requests have been made to works and rural development departments
to provide better road connectivity.

Earlier, the Archaeological Survey of India had excavated a monastery and relics from
Lalitgiri-Ratnagiri-Udaygiri hills located in the same district.

It has already been declared a Buddhist circuit.

Archaeological excavations are also going on at Kapileswar and Keduli, located on the outskirts
of Bhubaneswar. A section of archaeologists and historians have been trying to establish that
Kapileswar was the birthplace of Buddha.

Similarly, Kenduli has been acknowledged as the birthplace of poet Jaidev, the author of Geetgovinda.

As a part of the Buddhist circuit plan archaeologists have been asked to take up excavations at
Manikpatna, Jaugarh and on the Rushikulya river basin places with a rich past also in Ganjam.