Jaina Antiquities at Vaidakhia (Keonjhar)

A village named Vaidakhia, a small mound with four silted tanks is located on the south-west of the village. B. Acharya^[1] informs us that remain of ruined temple and images of Jaina Tirthankaras which were found lying here and there. The images are made of chlorite, sandstone and soap stone. Many of them are in mutilated condition. Some of them are as high as 1.5m to 1.8m in height. The Chandi temple of the same village preserves an image of Parsvanatha and chaumukha of the Jaina pantheon. At Anna village, an image of Parsvanatha is found in front of a thatched house. This was originally collected from Vaidakhia as known from the local inhabitant.

At Thunigaon, Jaina relics are found under a tree. One of them is Risabhanatha along with astagrahas and the other of Gomedha and Ambika carved on a common slab. Two Parsvanatha images worshipped as Ananta in a thatched roof of village Sainkul are noticed. Jaina relics are also found in the places of Panchupalli and Kosalesvara. Scholar also attributed the painting of Ravanachhaya of Sitabinjhi to have Jaina affiliation as the Bhanja rulers were patronized Jainism in their earlier phase of their rule^[2].