Ayodhya- the cradle of Buddhist learning

For centuries, the tiny hamlet of Ayodhya has become the breeding ground for the development of several faiths including Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Tantra and others. Till today sculptures, images and the ruins of an ancient city dated back to 10^thcentury & before are being found out from within the soil giving birth to new mysteries. Nobody has much knowledge what lies beneath the earth- just speculations based on little informations. The curtain can only be raised from all the mysteries behind the unearthed images of deities and structures when there will be a scientific excavation of the area from Archaelogical Survey of Indian and related organizations from across the world. 

I am not speaking about the Ayodhya from North India which is now known more for Babri controversy than the birthplace of Lord Rama. It is the Ayodhya of Balasore district of Orissa the place known worldwide for its strategic ranges for test firing nuclear capable ballistic missiles. It’s a mere coincidence, the place from where India boasts of its Might has also the remains of a civilization which accounts for peace and richness of art & culture in the region. 

The village of Ayodhya is situated about six miles from Nilgiri, the hilly sub-division of Balasore district. It was at one time the capital of the Vairata-rajas and throughout its long history was considered a sacred site for both Hindus and Buddhists. It is surrounded by rivers-the Gharghara on the east, the Sona to the North and the Sindhu to the South. A chain of irregular caves in the nearby hills suggests there was a large Buddhist establishment dating to a period much earlier than the surviving sculptures. During the 10^th-11^th centuries it was a flourishing centre of Buddhism with Marici and Tara as the presiding deities. Ruins of more than one hundred temples have been noted in the area. Numerous sculptural images of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain deities are scattered throughout the village, in private homes as well as in temples and arrangements are being made by the Orissa State Archaeology for the erection archaeological shed to house these images. Stylistically most of the Buddhist images date to the 10^th or 11^th century and are closely related to examples from Khiching. They are similarly carved out of the chlorite and, except where broken, are well-preserved and evince superb craftmanship in finely carved surface details. 

At the southern end of the village are numerous shrines, all heavily plastered, constructed in the late 19^th century by Bhanu Khuntia. A large number of dressed stones from earlier temples have been utilized in these shrines. The most important for this study is the Jayadurga (Khuntia) temple with its presiding diety being Samksipta-Marici. Other images within the sanctum, all in active worship as Hindu deities are generally covered with garmets, include a Vajrapani/Manjushi, a Chintamani Lokesvara, and a Varahamukhi while near the entrance is a small image of Budha in bhumisparsa-mudra.Marici, worshipped as Jayadurga, is eight armed and stands in pratyalidha in her chariot pulled by seven sows.She is surrounded by four companions while the popular Budhist dharani “ Ye dharma hetu prabhava…” is carved on the upper part of the back-slab in characters ascribed to the late 10^th century. The two-armed Vajrapani/Manjushristands in tribhanga on a visvapadma and is richly ornamented. His right hand delicately holds a small lotus in front of his chest while his left hand holds the stalk of an utpalawhich supports either a vajra or a book. He is flanked by Sudhanakumara andYamantaka who duplicate his pose. Lokesvara stands in the slightly flexed pose with his right hand in varada and his raised left hand holding a lotus. He is framed by akalpavrksha which showers gems to pretas standing below. He is flanked on the left by seated, two armed Cintamanicakra-Avalokitesvara. The four-armed Varahamukhi,worshipped as Varahi, stands in pratyalidha on a visvapadma. Her principal right hand wields a vajra while her left hand is in tarjani- pasa . Her back hands hold arrows and a bow. Inserted into a niche on the front exterior of the temple is a small image of theBrahmanical Varahi. The original temple of Marici Thakurani was located about half a mile west of a place called Kandabhari, though all that remains are a broken granite pillar, huge carved stones and an amalaka-sila. There is little doubt that at one point this must have been a huge temple. 

Other images scattered throughout the village include a beautiful, seated Tara, the Prajnaof Tathagata Ratnasambhava, several small Buddhas and a four-armed Jata-mukutaLokesvara/Mahakaruna. The larger image of Tara depicts her seated in lalitasana on avisvapadma. Her right hand is in varada while her left hand holds the stalk of an utpala. She is richly adorned and a second utpala on her right supports a votive stupa. ThePrajna of Ratnasambhava is seated in lalitasana with her right hand in varada while her left hand holds the stalk of a lotus supporting a jewel. In the first of the small Budha images, now headless, Budha is seated in vajraparyarika on a visvapadma with his right hand in abhaya, suggesting he probably represents the Tathagata Amoghasiddhi. In the second example the Buddha displays bhumisparsa-mudra and a votive stupa is above each shoulder. The image is badly worn. Jaya-mukuta Lokesvara/ Mahakaruna stands in a graceful tribhanga pose with his major right hand in varada while the obliterated uplifted hand held a rosary. The two left arms are badly damaged. He is richly ornamented and bears and effigy of Amitabha on his crown. He is framed by a toranawith a votive stupa at each upper corner opposite his shoulders. He is flanked by Tara on the right and by Bhrkuti on the left while a seated figure (goddess) is on each corner of the pedestal. Flying vidyadharas are on the upper corners of the back-slab. 

Inside the sanctum of the Uttaresvara Mahadeva temple in the north part of the village, build on the foundation of an earlier damaged temple, is an image of Vajra-Tara, a seated Buddha and an image of the serpent goddess Astika-jaratkaru, in addition to the siva-linga. The image of Vajra-Tara is popularly known as the Thakurani of Ayodhya to suggest she originally had her own shrine. She has four faces (three visible) and eight arm. She is seated in vajraparyanka and is surrounded by four goddesses. The Buddha (Ratnasambhava) is seated in vajraparyanka with his right hand displaying varada-mudra. 

At Badia, on the outskirts of Ayodhya, is the upper portion of a broken image of a three-headed goddess. All of her arms are broken off, however, and it is not possible to determine if She is a Brahmanical or a Buddhist deity. The image at Puranagaon, three miles northwest of Ayodhya, which Vasu identified as the Buddhist goddess Kurukulla, is actually an image of Parvati. 

Ayodhya is about 28 kilometers from the Balasore railway station. It is well-connected by motorable roads.

-Sameer Das

(Courtesy : Iconography of the Buddhist sculpture of Orissa by Thomas E. Donaldson)