Published on: March 1, 2023

Buddhist stupa

Buddhist stupa


Why in news? The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) stumbled upon a 1,300-year-old stupa in the middle of a mining site in Odisha’s Jajpur district


Highlights

  • Stupa was unearthed at the Khandolite mining site at Parabhadi in Sukhuapada hamlet in Jajpur district
  • This district supplied Khondalite stones for the beautification project for Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.
  • The archaeological asset was found at Parabhadi, situated near Lalitagiri, a major Buddhist complex, having a large number of stupas and monasteries.
  • Lalitagiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri together is known as “Diamond Triangle“.

About Khondalite rock

  • It is a foliated metamorphic rock.
  • Found in the Eastern Ghats between Vijayawada and Cuttack in India.
  • These stones were widely used in ancient temple complexes.
  • Khondalite stones are proposed to be used widely to maintain aesthetic value of some projects such as the heritage security zone, the Jagannath Ballav pilgrim centre, Puri lake development project, the Atharnala heritage project and the Matha Development Initiative.