Early period remains of temple discovered near Odisha’s Chandikhole

Researchers believe that the construction of the temple happened around the 13th/14th Century C.E

By A.K.Sahoo

Bhubaneswar, March 13: A team from the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has discovered the base of an ancient temple and other archaeological remains at Purushottampur Sasana village in the Badachana block of the Jajpur district.

The temple ruins, near the Dhanamandal railway station, were first noticed by   Nrupati Nihar Siala,  a local heritage enthusiast, who informed the INTACH Cuttack Chapter. The ruins lay scattered in an area of four acres at the base of a small hillock, a little away from the railway siding.

The three-member INTACH team, comprising Anil Dhir, Biswajit Mohanty, and Deepak Kumar Nayak explored the spot and the vicinity along with Bikram Kumar Nayak and Suman Prakash Swain.

According to Deepak Kumar Nayak, the ruins are suggestive of a large temple complex that had crumbled down due to unknown reasons. However, the base of the temple is still clearly visible. A large number of huge stone blocks, intricately carved stone panels, and few religious sculptures are found scattered all around the site.

The most notable stone panels are the depictions of war processions, musical bands, royal processions, palanquins and elephants.

A Kalasa (holy pitcher) of a temple was found at the dug-up site of the railway station.   Considering this iconography, Deepak assigned the construction period to be around the 13th/14th Century C.E, the period when the Eastern Ganga dynasty  held sway over the region.

Dr. Biswajit Mohanty opined that the Jajpur region was known as ‘Guheswarapataka’ in ancient times. The region was ruled by powerful dynasties like the Bhaumakaras, Somavamsis, Gangas and Suryavamsis. Art and architecture touched the pinnacle of finesse during the rule of these dynasties. Many beautiful temples of the Kalingan order were built during the glorious reigns of the kings. Many of these came under the onslaught of attacks by the iconoclastic marauders which included Firoz Shah Tughlaq, Kalapahada and Aurangzeb. The region of Jajpur witnessed a cultural genocide with the destruction of many temples and mutts. This temple at Purushottampur too must have been destroyed during any such attacks.

Many artifacts were also found in the excavated area of the ongoing railway work near the station. While most of the square blocks have been removed by the villagers for construction, there are nearly a thousand odd pieces scattered lying all over the complex. The team a  saw many that have been overrun by the dense undergrowth bushes and vegetation.  The temple base, till the Pista level, is practically intact, with very large stone blocks.