Baripada Museum

Baripada Museum, the first museum in Odisha was established in 1903 by the late Maharaja Shri Rama Chandra Bhanja of Mayurbhanj. Earlier it was housed in the Jubilee library of Baripada town. The museum displays artifacts of prehistoric time to documents of historical period. Among the archaeological findings three Jaina relics are displayed here. One of them is an Ambika, a chaumukha and other is an image of Risabhanatha.

Ambika (Sl.No.43):

The image of Ambika (10x7.5x2.5cm) is carved on a small piece of chlorite stone. Its find spot is Kuamara in Kaptipada Sub-division and brought to the collection of the museum in the year 1924 as inscribed in the caption. The left upper corner of the stone slab is missing. Ambika is carved seated in lalitasana with right leg pendant. She holds a baby in her left lap and a bunch of mangoes in her right hand. Her second son is depicted on the right of the Sasanadevi. She has high bun hairstyle at the top of her head and decked with karna-kundalas, necklace, armlets and valayas. A circular halo is seen behind her head and above which branches of kevala tree. Above the head of the Sasanadevi, her Tirthankara Neminatha is carved seated in dhyanamudra and other features on the upper slab are defaced and missing

Risabhanatha (Sl.No.32):

The Risabhanatha image (25x10x04cm) is carved standing in kayotsargamudra over a lotus pedestal below which his lanchana bull is also depicted (Pl.LXXXVIIA). Besides, kneeling devotees with folded hands, heaps of offerings in diminutive size are depicted at the pedestal. The Tirthankara is surrounded by twenty three Tirthankara figures along with their respective lanchanas, twenty Tirthankara figures on it vertical side and three Tirthankara figures at the pedestal. His hair is arranged in jata and few strands of it have fallen over his shoulders. Perforated jali design is seen behind his leg at the lower portion while a decorative torana with makara mukha ends is seen behind his body. A circular halo with beaded boarder and lotus leaf design is found behind his head just above the decorative torana. The halo is crowned by a defaced trilinear umbrella flanked by drums and cymbals played by heavenly hands and full blown lotus flower at the extreme corner of the stone slab on the top.

Chaumukha (Sl.No.33):

The chaumukha was recovered from Badasahi in 1924 CE and brought from the collection of one Mr. K.P Bose. The chaumukha contains the figure of Risabhanatha, Santinatha, Chandraprabha and Mahavira on the four cardinal directions183. Instead of Santinatha there is an image of Parsvanatha in the chaumukha. The Tirthankaras are depicted in kayotsargamudra over lotus pedestals and their respective lanchanas are also depicted in their pedestals. The chaumukha as a whole is a rectangular chlorite stone block (30x10cm) with an apsidal long knob (8x5cm) at the base (Pl.LXXXVIIB). Thus, it can be presumed that the chaumukha may insert over another platform/object.

In additional to these, nine copper Jaina icons are also preserved in the museum. They were recovered in a hoard from village Kuntapala in 1935 CE. Among these sculptures, three each of Parsvanatha and of Risabhanatha, two are of Ambika and one is unidentified184. All are casted in standing position and their measurement varies from 12 to 15cm x 4.5 to 6cm in height and length respectively