Historical Geography of Ancient India c7.188

c7.188

*Jājpur.*—It is an old site in the Jajpur district of Orissa. This place is called Birajākṣetra in the *Mahābhārata*. It was a sacred spot as early as the 2nd or 3rd century A.D. It contains a temple having the image of Satī under the name of Birajā or the passionless one. This temple cannot be of an earlier date than the 14th century A.D. Jājpur, also known as Birajākṣetra on the Vaitaraṇī in the Cuttack district, is a place of historical importance. Four colossal images which are the notable objects of antiquarian interest have been discovered here. One of them is an image of the Bodhisattva Padmapāṇi of decomposed Khondalite of the later Gupta period, 16 ft. in height. The other three are the images of Vārāhī, Cāmuṇḍā and Indrāṇī. Of these images, those of Cāmuṇḍā and Indrāṇī are very badly mutilated. The colossal image of Vārāhī at Jājpur has lost both the right fore-arms, and both of her left arms are mutilated. She is seated in easy posture on a throne. Her vehicle, buffalo, is carved on the base. As pointed out by R. P. Chanda the makers of the images of the mothers and the allied gods and goddesses found at Jājpur followed the *Devī-māhātmya*, which knows only seven mother-goddesses. All the old temples of Jājpur are said to have been destroyed by Mahommedan invaders. Jājpur was the capital of Orissa at the time of Hiuen Tsang, as rightly pointed out by Waddell and R. P. Chanda. It may be recognized as an old centre of the cult of Birajā or Durgā. The magnificent images of the mothers and the allied deities, e.g., Śivadūtī and Gaṇeśa, found at Jājpur, are the best specimens of the early mediaeval Buddhist sculptures. The early mediaeval stone-temples of Jājpur are not of much architectural importance. For further details, vide R. P. Chanda, *Exploration in Orissa*, *M.A.S.I.*, No. 44.