By Abhishek Angad
From The Indian Express
February 26, 2021
Statues of Buddha and deity Tara among the ruins. (Photo: ASI)
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL Survey of India (ASI) has unearthed a Buddhist monastery, believed to be at least 900 years old, buried under a mound in a village situated in a hilly area of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand. The finding comes two months after discovery of an ancient Buddhist shrine, buried under a similar mound, barely 100 metres away.
Over the past four days, an team from the Patna branch of ASI has excavated 10 stone statues of deity Tara and the Buddha in Burhani village near Juljul Pahar of Sitagarhi Hills, around 12 km from district headquarters Hazaribagh. On Thursday, they found a sculpture which appears to be that of Shaivite deity Maheswari – with a coiled crown and chakra – indicating cultural assimilation in the area, said ASI officials.
Archaeologists said the findings were significant since the monastery is on the old route to Varanasi, 10 km from Sarnath, where the Buddha gave his first sermon. They said the presence of statues of deity Tara shows possible proliferation of Vajrayana form of Buddhism in this region.
