CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

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imported>SambitK: /* Tourism */

2021-03-10T17:45:22Z

Tourism

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{{Short description|Buddhist site in Odisha, India}}
{{Other uses|Pushpagiri (disambiguation){{!}}Pushpagiri}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = Puspagiri
| native_name =
| image = Pushpagiri (Langudi Hill) - Jajpur - Odisha - Buddhist site - Rock-Cut Stupas - 2.JPG
| image_size = 250px
| alt =
| caption = Carvings on a rock face
| map_type = India Odisha#India
| map_size = 250
| location = India
| coordinates = {{coord|20.722739|86.190338|display=inline,title}}
| religious_affiliation = [[Buddhism]]
| rite =
| region =
| state = [[Odisha]]
| province =
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| functional_status = Preserved
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{{BuddhasHolySites}}
'''Pushpagiri''' ([[Odia language|Odia]]: ପୁଷ୍ପଗିରି) was an ancient Buddhist [[mahavihara]] or monastic complex located atop '''Langudi''' Hill (or Hills) in [[Jajpur district]] of [[Odisha]], India. Pushpagiri was mentioned in the writings of the Chinese traveller [[Xuanzang]] ({{circa|602|664}}) and some other ancient sources. Until the 1990s, it was hypothesised to be one or all of the [[Lalitgiri]]-[[Ratnagiri, Odisha|Ratnagiri]]-[[Udayagiri, Odisha|Udayagiri]] group of monastic sites, also located in Jajpur district. These sites contain ruins of many buildings, [[stupa]]s of various sizes, sculptures (many now removed to museums), and other artifacts.

However, archaeological excavations conducted at Langudi Hills during 1996-2006 resulted in the discovery of another site, with inscriptions describing the local monastery as ''puṣpa sabhar giriya'', and identified by the excavators as Pushpagiri. This has now become the general view among scholars. The site has now been made accessible for tourism.

The visit of Xuanzang indicates that Pushpagiri was an important Buddhist site in ancient India. Along with [[Nalanda]], [[Vikramashila]], [[Odantapuri]], [[Takshashila]] and [[Vallabhi]], it is believed to be a major ancient centre of learning. It flourished between 3rd and 11th centuries CE.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkLeCQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA121&pg=PA121 |title=A History of Science in World Cultures: Voices of Knowledge |author=Scott L. Montgomery; Alok Kumar |publisher=Routledge |year=2015 |isbn=9781317439066 |page=121 }}</ref>

== Historical mentions ==
The Chinese traveler Xuanzang (c. 602-644) describes a [[sangharama]] (monastery) 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".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U_VKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA204 |title=Buddhist records of the Western World |author=Hiuen Tsang |translator=Samuel Beal |publisher=J. R. Osgood |year=1885 |pages=204 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/onyuanchwangstr01wattgoog#page/n202/mode/2up/search/supernatural |title=On Yuan Chwang's travels in India, 629-645 A.D. |author= Thomas Watters |editor=Thomas William Rhys Davids |editor-link=Thomas William Rhys Davids |editor2=Stephen Wootton Bushell |editor2-link=Stephen Wootton Bushell |publisher=Royal Asiatic Society |location=London |year=1905 |pages=193–194 }}</ref> Scholars identify this country as [[Odra Kingdom|Odra]] in present-day Odisha. Xuanzang describes the monastery as follows:<ref name="TED_2001">{{cite book |author=Thomas E. Donaldson |title=Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbxE8zOuRbUC&pg=PA4 |year=2001 |publisher=Abhinav |isbn=978-81-7017-406-6 |pages=4–}}</ref>

{{quotation|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.}}

A 3rd century inscription of the [[Andhra Ikshvaku]] king Vira-purusha-datta, found at [[Nagarjunakonda]] (in present-day Andhra Pradesh), mentions that an [[upasika]] named Bodhisiri made numerous endowments to Buddhist establishments. One of these included sponsoring the erection of a stone [[mandapa]] at "Puphagiri".<ref name="PP_2001">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xzTrAAAAMAAJ |title=Orissa Revisited |author=Pratapaditya Pal |author-link=Pratapaditya Pal |publisher=Marg |year=2001 |page=29 }}</ref> According to Thomas E. Donaldson, this is likely same as the Pushpagiri mentioned in Xuanzang's records ("Puphagiri" being the [[Pali]] form of the Sanskrit "Pushpagiri), and was located in the present-day Odisha.<ref name="TED_2001"/> [[Pratapaditya Pal]] notes that if this identification is true, the site in Odisha must have been established by at least 3rd century.<ref name="PP_2001"/> However, some other scholars, such as [[Dineshchandra Sircar]] and B. S. L. Hanumantha Rao, identify this "Puphagiri" with [[Pushpagiri Temple Complex]] in the present-day [[Cuddapah District]] of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.512164 |title=The Successors of the Sātavāhanas in Lower Deccan |author=D. C. Sircar |publisher=University of Calcutta |year=1939 |page=33 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSRuAAAAMAAJ |title=Religion in Andhra |author=B. S. L. Hanumantha Rao |publisher=Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of A.P. |year=1993 |page=87 }}</ref>

The 9th century Buddhist monk [[Prajna (Buddhist monk)|Prajna]], after spending 18 years in various places including [[Nalanda]], settled in an unnamed monastery of ''Wu-ch'a'' (identified with Odra), before going to China.<ref name="PP_2001"/><ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/odishas-contribution-to-buddhism-written-in-golden-letters.html |title=Odisha's contribution to Buddhism written in golden letters |author=Bimalendu Mohanty |newspaper=The Pioneer |date=14 May 2014 }}</ref> A few scholars, such as Prabhat Mukherjee, identify this monastery with Pushpagiri.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwcaAAAAMAAJ |title=The Buddhist Remains of Orissa |author=Prabhat Mukherjee |publisher=Government of Orissa |location=Cuttack |year=1964 |page=3 }}</ref>

== Identification ==

<mapframe text="Location of Pushpagiri on Langudi Hill (star), Lalitgiri (yellow circle), Ratnagiri (green circle) and Udayagiri (blue circle) As the crow flies, Ratnagiri and Udaygiri are about {{cvt|11|km}} apart, and both about {{cvt|7|km}} from Lalitgiri" width="400" height="400" zoom="10" longitude="86.26" latitude="20.65". >
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In the 20th century, a number of scholars identified the Pushpagiri mentioned in Xuanzang's records with various sites in present-day Odisha. [[Ramaprasad Chanda]] (1930) of the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] believed that either [[Udayagiri, Odisha|Udayagiri]] or [[Lalitgiri]] could be the historical Pushpagiri.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nGYuAAAAMAAJ |title=The Brooklyn Museum Annual, Volume 8 |publisher=Brooklyn Museum |year=1966 |page=118 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=scMxQgAACAAJ |title=Exploration in Orissa |author=Ramaprasad Chanda |series= Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India No.44 |publisher=Govt. of India, Central Publication Branch |location=Calcutta |year=1930 |page=6 }}</ref> Based on archaeological finds, [[Krishna Chandra Panigrahi|K. C. Panigrahi]] (1961) hypothesized that Udayagiri, Lalitgiri and [[Ratnagiri, Odisha|Ratnagiri]] formed a common complex, which was called Pushpagiri.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eJvpAAAAMAAJ |title=Archaeological Remains at Bhubaneswar |author=Krishna Chandra Panigrahi |author-link=Krishna Chandra Panigrahi |publisher=Orient Longmans |year=1961 |page=33 }}</ref> As the crow flies, Ratnagiri and Udaygiri are about {{cvt|11|km}} apart, and both about {{cvt|7|km}} from Lalitgiri. N. K. Sahu (1958) placed Pushpagiri somewhere in the [[Phulbani]]- Ghumsur region, based on geographical descriptions in Xuanzang's works.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GMEAAAAYAAJ |title=Buddhism in Orissa |author=N. K. Sahu |publisher=Utkal University |year=1958 |page=50 }}</ref>

In 1985, the [[Archaeological Survey of India]] (ASI) started excavation at Lalitgiri to confirm its relation to Pushpagiri. The excavation led to several important archaeological discoveries, but none of these confirmed the identification of Lalitgiri with Pushpagiri.<ref name="Telegraph_2007"/>

=== Langudi Hill excavations ===

In the 1990s, college lecturer Harish Chandra Prusty discovered a Buddhist site on the Langudi Hill in [[Jajpur district]]. This is some {{cvt|18|km}} distant from Udaygiri, the closest of the "triangle" sites, further up the river. In 1993, he and Pradeep Mohanty described the Langudi site in an article published in the ''Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute''.<ref>{{cite journal |jstor=42936452 |author=Harish Chandra Prusty and Pradeep Mohanty |title=Langudi: A unique Rock-cut Buddhist Site in Orissa |journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute |volume=53 |year=1993 |pages=325–327 }}</ref> In 1996, the Orissa Institute of Maritime and South East Asia Studies and the Odisha state's archaeology department started exploring the site.<ref name="Telegraph_2007">{{cite web | url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070129/asp/jamshedpur/story_7319473.asp | title=ASI hope for hill heritage – Conservation set to start at Orissa site | date=29 January 2007 |newspaper=The Telegraph }}</ref> Between 1996 and 2006, the Institute carried out excavations of an area stretching over {{convert|143|acre|km2}}.

A fragmented [[Brahmi script|Brahmi]] inscription discovered at the site names the site as ''puṣpa sabhar giriya'' ("flower-filled hill"), identified by the excavators as Pushpagiri.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/16807/12/12_chapter%203.pdf |title=Religious Landscape of Orissa - From 5th to 12th centuries |author=U Mishra |access-date=24 December 2015 |publisher=INFLIBNET }}</ref><ref name="indiasite"/> In 2000, an excavation conducted by the institute, under the supervision of archaeologist Debraj Pradhan, resulted in the discovery of a large [[stupa]] as well as several other archaeological artifacts. The artifacts included pillars, a fragmentary Brahmi inscription, terracota seals and [[Northern Black Polished Ware]]. Debraj Pradhan believed the stupa to have been erected by the [[Maurya empire|Mauryan]] emperor [[Ashoka]] (304–232 BCE): Although Xuanzang suggests that Odra had 10 stupas erected by Ashoka, this is the only one to have been discovered so far. According to [[B. N. Mukherjee]] of [[Calcutta University]], who deciphered the Brahmi inscription, the stupa may have been erected by "a lay Buddhist worshipper called Ashoka".<ref name="rediff_2000">{{cite news |url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2000/may/27ashok.htm |title=Ashoka stupa found in Orissa |author=Debi Patnaik |date=27 May 2000 |publisher=rediff.com }}</ref>

By 2007, 34 rock-cut stupas of various sizes had been discovered on the northern part of the hill. A number of Buddhist rock-cut sculptures were discovered on the southern [[spur (topography)|spur]] of the hill, including sculptures of [[Dhyanibuddha|Dhyani Buddhas]] in various postures. According to D. K. Dimri, the superintendent of the ASI's Orissa circle, the archaeological finds at the site cover a period between 1st century CE and 9th century CE, and suggest the existence of a major Buddhist monastic establishment. In 2007, the ASI took over the excavated site.<ref name="Telegraph_2007"/>

<gallery>
File:Pushpagiri (Langudi Hill) - Jajpur - Odisha - Buddhist site - Ancient Stupa.jpg | Ruins of the large stupa with a square base
File:Pushpagiri (Langudi Hill) - Jajpur - Odisha - Buddhist site - Rock-Cut Stupas.JPG | Rock-cut stupas
File:Pushpagiri (Langudi Hill) - Jajpur - Odisha - Buddhist site - Stone inscription written in Pali.jpg | Pali stone inscription
</gallery>

== Tourism ==
In 2005, the Odisha State Government began developing the Langudi Hills site as a tourist place by constructing roads and other facilities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=4,1193,0,0,1,0 | title=Discovery of Buddhist stupa may turn remote hamlet into tourist hotspot |date=19 May 2005 |publisher=Buddhist Channel TV }}</ref>

There are other Buddhist attractions around Langudi hills. Kaima hill, in its immediate vicinity, contains a unique rock-cut elephant surrounded by four monolithic [[khondalite]] pillars; this dates from the [[Mauryan empire|Mauryan]] period in the 3rd century, BCE. Deuli, a hill situated in the confluence of the [[Brahmani River|Brahmani]] and Kimiria rivers, has preserved five rock-cut Buddhist chambers inside caves. Additional Buddhist sites have been discovered at Bajragiri, Sarapur and Paikrapur. The Langudi sites are perhaps the largest historic Buddhist complex in India.

Langudi can be approached from [[Jaraka]] and [[Chandikhol]] on the [[National Highway 5 (India)|National Highway 5]], and is easily accessible from the urban centres of [[Cuttack]] and [[Bhubaneswar]]. The best months to visit the place are during October and February.<ref name="indiasite">{{cite web | url=http://www.indiasite.com/archaeology/langudi.html | title=Langudi : A newly discovered Buddhist site in Orissa | access-date=24 December 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924034424/http://www.indiasite.com/archaeology/langudi.html | archive-date=24 September 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==References==
{{commons category|Puphagiri}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Odisha}}
{{Buddhism topics}}
{{Ancient Dharmic centres of Higher Learning}}
{{Portal bar|Religion|India}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buddhist sites in Odisha]]
[[Category:Buddhist monasteries in India]]
[[Category:Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India]]
[[Category:Ancient universities of the Indian subcontinent]]
[[Category:Buddhist universities and colleges]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Jajpur district]]
[[Category:Defunct Buddhist monasteries]]
[[Category:Education in Odisha]]
[[Category:Former Buddhist temples]]
[[Category:Former populated places in India]]
[[Category:Ruins in India]]
[[Category:Stupas in India]]
[[Category:3rd-century Buddhist temples]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in the 3rd century]]
[[Category:3rd-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:11th-century disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:Archaeological monuments in Odisha]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Odisha]]

Pushpagiri Vihara - Revision history

CleanupBot II: Removed empty portal template using script

imported>SambitK: /* Tourism */