Speaking about India, the origin of Buddhism can be traced back to the era which consisted around more than 2,600 years ago as a lifestyle with the ability to transform an individual. It is a significant religion in countries of South and South-Eastern Asia. The faith is founded on the teachings and life experiences of its originator Siddhartha Gautam, who was born around 563 BCE. He was born into the royal lineage of the Sakya clan, who governed from Kapilvastu, located in Lumbini near the Indo-Nepal border. At twenty-nine years old, Gautama departed from home, turning away from his affluent life to adopt a life of asceticism, characterized by extreme self-restraint. Following forty-nine straight days of meditation, Gautama achieved Bodhi (enlightenment) beneath a pipal tree in Bodhgaya, a village located in Bihar. Buddha delivered his initial sermon in the community of Sarnath, close to the city of Benares in Uttar Pradesh. This occurrence is referred to as Dharma-Chakra-Pravarttana (the turning of the law's wheel). He passed away at the age of eighty in 483 BCE in a location known as Kushinagar, a town in Uttar Pradesh. The occasion is referred to as Mahaparinibban.

Indeed, in spite of the fact that Bhagavan Buddha had never visited Odisha amid his lifetime, the state includes a wealthy legacy of Buddhism. Odisha hosts over 200 Buddhist locations, distributed throughout its entirety. In this region, Buddhism thrived from the 6^th Century BCE until at least the 15^th to 16^th Century CE. Following the demise of the Buddha, his adherents split into two sects—'Hinayana' and 'Mahayana'. The newest phase of Buddhism is 'Vajrayana,' which is thought to have originated in Odisha. As per the Buddhist scholars from the Odisha Institute of Maritime and South East Asian Studies, Viraja (now Jajpur) was a holy site of Buddha Padmaprabha and the origin of 'Mahayana'. The existence of 'Mahayana' artifacts, stupas, and relics in Jajpur district serves as evidence of this. Chinese traveller Xuanzang explored these Buddhist locations in Odisha after his visit to India in 639 CE during the rule of emperor Harshavardhana. Buddhism was the faith associated with the family of the Bhaumakara Dynasty, who ruled over Odisha between 8^th to 10^th Century CE. The tantric version of 'Mahayana' Buddhism began in this era. A highly sought-after Buddhist site in Odisha is the Diamond Triangle, which includes Ratnagiri, Udayagiri, and Lalitagiri located in Jajpur district.

Now coming to today’s topic, the Pushpagiri Mahavihara is situated at the crest of a low hill called ‘Langudi’ which extends from north to south, situated in the plains of the Mahanadi Delta and is approximately 80 kilometres away from the capital city of Bhubaneswar. The largely barren hill is an open area, surrounded by numerous khondalite formations. The Kelua River, a branch of the Brahmani, which is the second biggest river system in Odisha, winds through the northeastern and eastern regions of Langudi Hill. The impact of this river coursing through a scene of hills and plains is visually stunning; within this setting are Buddhist archaeological sites adorned with a collection of carved rock Buddhist stupas and numerous early medieval Buddhist monuments and shrines. These encompass the Meditating Buddhas in various stances, the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, and female deities such as Tara and Prajnaparamita, Manjushree etc. The hill has also retained the remains of a grand brick central stupa and a sizable rectangular monastery. Overall, the Buddhist remnants on the hill suggest that Langudi was an important centre for the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana branches of Buddhism. Xuanzang describes a Sangharama named Pu-se-p'o-k'i-li in the south-west region of a country, whose name is variously transliterated as U-Cha or Wu-T-U. Scholars such as Stanislas Julien and Samuel Beal restored Pu-se-po-k'i-li as "Pushpagiri", and name of the country as Ota or "Udra”. Scholars identify this country as Odra in present-day Odisha. Xuanzang narrates that in the south-west of the country was the Pu-sie-p'o-k'i-li monastery in a mountain; the stone top of this monastery exhibited supernatural lights and other miracles, sunshades placed by worshippers on it between the dome and the amalaka remained there like needles held by a magnet.

In the lowest section, beginning at the proper left, is a Buddha seated in vajraparyanka on a vishvapadma. Where, his hands are in dhyana mudra. On his left, sharing the same niche, is a Bodhisattva seated in lalitasana with his right hand in varada while the raised left hand holds an Utpala, which may support an attribute. Surface details are partially obfuscated by fungus and, as with other images, the lower part of the image is buried by debris. This shallow niche is separated from the next one by a band of mali phula phadika scrollwork. The first figure in the second niche is a female seated in lalitasana with her right hand in varada and the left hand, on her seat behind her thigh, holding the stalk of an utpala, suggesting she represents Tara. The fourth figure of this grouping is a standing, four-armed Bhrkuti. Her lower right hand is in Varada while the back uplifted hand holds a rosary. The lowered left hand holds a kamandalu, mostly broken off, while the tridandi held in the uplifted back left hand is partially obscured by fungus and debris. The second grouping, carved on the same edge of the escarpment, begins some ten feet further up the hill and is dominated by four large images of Tathagata Buddhas, along with smaller images of a standing Avalokiteshvara, a seated Buddha and numerous devotees, fronted by a partially buried monolithic stupa. The first Buddha from the proper left is Amitabha while the second one is Aksobhya. Next is a small Buddha displaying bhumisparsa-mudra and then, as the escarpment takes a sharp bend outward, an image of Amoghasiddhi flanked on his left, at the top, by a small image of Aksobhya and below by a kneeling devotee with hands in anjali. A small Buddha at the top right appears not to have been finished. The fourth Tathagata is carved on the corner as the escarpment bends sharply back. A kneeling female offers a garland to him at his right. Further down the hill on the north spur is a grouping of stupas carved on a tall ledge. One of the larger stupas is flanked on either side by a pair of vidyadharas holding a garland of flowers over its crowning chattri. Near the top of the hill are scattered remains of a brick stupa and possibly two monasteries. The imagery appears to date to the 9th-10th centuries.

Matrika Images

Pushpagiri Mahavihara (Buddhist Monastic Site): A Lesser-Known Ancient University

Pushpagiri Mahavihara (2nd century BC to 10th century AD) was a major Buddhist site for higher learning in ancient India that flourished until the 11th century.