Objectives of the Research work

On the basis of the above facts and figures this research work was taken up with the following objectives:-

1) To undertake extensive documentation and study of the art and architecture of the Stupas and Votive Stupas in Orissa reported from the excavated sites i.e. Lalitagiri, Langudi, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri.

2) To undertake a comparative study of the Stupas and Votive Stupas of Orissa with those found in the neighboring states in Eastern India in particular and those found in the Peninsular India and other parts of India in general, to see if there was any external influence on the Stupa building activity in Orissa as is seen in the case of execution of the sculptures.

3) To see if any regional variation is observed in the Stupa building activity.

4) To study the iconography of the of Buddhist pantheons as represented on the Votive Stupas.

5) To study the gradual development in the Stupa architecture with the gradual development of Buddhism, from the evidences.

Keeping in view the aims and objectives of the study as well as the source material at my disposal, the research work has been divided in to six chapters.

The Chapter-1 ‘Introduction’ the reasons for selection of the topic, aims and objective of the research work, the previous works relating to the research work that has taken place in Orissa and that in pan Indian context have been discussed briefly.

Before taking up the Political and Religious history, a brief of the geomorphological features of Orissa is done to give a background to the geographical setting of the state. This constitutes the subject matter of Chapter-2, ‘Geomorphological, Political and Religious History of Orissa’.

The influence of Buddhism in Orissa is believed to have started right from the lifetime of Buddha and it was after the conquest of Kalinga by Asoka that Buddhism in real sense spread in Orissa. Buddhism was given royal patronage and was made a state religion. Buddhism became a state religion even during the Bhaumakara period. It was the period when most of the monasteries, chaityas, stupas and other construction works were carried out throughout the length and breadth of the state. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that this period saw the peak of Buddhism in Orissa. This period was also important for the emergence of a new form of Buddhism i.e. Vajrayana. Vajrayana became very popular among the masses and most of the archaeological remains reported are from this period. It is believed that it was from here that Vajrayana travelled to other parts of the country and abroad. In the subsequent periods Brahmanical Hinduism was at its peak but Buddhism survived due to local and individual patronage. It remained a strong hold of Buddhism even after the Muslim conquest of India. Orissa also acted as a refuge for the Buddhists fleeing from the neighbouring areas due to Muslim onslaught. The construction of Buddhist structures continued up to the reign of Mukunda Deva (1559-68) and this is found mentioned in the records of Taranath (Mitra 1980: 223). In this work the political and religious history has been discussed simultaneously and only up to sixteenth Century, when we have the last records of constructional activity. A brief about the Tantrayana phase and the reasons for the decline of Buddhism in Orissa is also done.

In Chapter-3 ‘Development of Stupa Architecture in India’ the various aspects and sources of development of stupa’s origin, evolution and structural arrangement and architectural phenomenon of as seen in India and abroad has been discussed. Different Buddhist texts throw light on erecting a stupa, there components and importance of each and every part of the stupa i.e; vedhi, medhi, anda, harmika and chatravali. Archaeological findings justifies the Buddhist texts and the excavated Buddhist sites glorifies the past of Buddhism.

In Chapter-4 ‘The Stupa Architecture in Orissa’ the major, the minor structural and votive stupas reported from the important excavated sites i.e; Lalitagiri, Langudi, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri of Orissa have been minutely discussed according to the tentative dates assigned to them. The stylised forms of the different parts of the stupa has also been shown separately i.e; vedhi, medhi, anda, harmika and chatravali.

In Chapter–5 ‘Buddhist Icons as depicted on the Stupas’ iconographic representation of the male and female deities, their emanations as seen on the stupas has been covered.

Chapter–6 is the ‘Conclusion’ in which a summary of the research work has been done and many other fact and figures which were outside the preview of discussion in the above chapters has been done here.

After discussing the ‘Introduction’ in which the previous research work done by different scholars on the Buddhist sites of Orissa and my aim and objective for taking up this topic for my research work, in the next chapter ‘Geomorphological, Political and religious History of Orissa’, geographical location, the land formation, the important rivers flowing from Orissa and political and religious history of Orissa beginning from the time of Asoka, second-third century till the fourteenth century has been done.