An Encyclopaedia of Indian Archaeology v1.c9.s19.t3.7

v1.c9.s19.t3.7

These apart, remains of Buddhist art and architecture of the period have been discovered at KHICHING in Dt Mayurbhanj, at Baudh, at Chowduar near Cuttack and on the hills of Udayagiri, Lalitagiri and RATNAGIRI in Dt Cuttack. Colossal images of Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Tārā and host of other deities of the Mahāyāna order abound in these hills, which have proved to be the veritable store-houses of Buddhist sculptures. Hiuen Tsang visited Puṣpagiri-vihāra, located in this region, and from his account it is known that the famous *vihāra* was a prosperous and magnificent establishment under the patronage of the Bhaumas. The extensive remains of a Buddhist establishment uncovered at RATNAGIRI, comprising a main *stūpa*, magnificent monasteries, shrines, innumerable votive *stūpas* and sealings bearing the legend *Ratnagiri-mahāvihāra ārya-bhikṣu-saṁghasya* testify that RATNAGIRI, like NĀLANDĀ, was a prosperous and renowned centre of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The date of the establishment extending from the 8th to the 13th century indicates that Buddhism continued to flourish as a living faith in the hills while Śaivism became the religion of the plains.