Context:

The Archaeological Survey of India has unearthed a Buddhist monastery buried under a mound in a village situated in a hilly area of the Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.

Key Findings

• The findings are made in Burhani village near Juljul Pahar of Sitagarhi Hills located around 12 km from district headquarters
• The monastery is believed to be at least 900 years old.
• It seems to be built during the Pala period.
• Following findings have been made:
• Four statues of deity Tara in Varad Mudra
• Varad Mudra is the gesture of hand showing dispensing of boons
• Six statues of the Buddha in bhumisparsa Mudra
• Bhumisparsa Mudra is the gesture of hand showing five fingers of right hand towards the earth symbolizing the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Contribution of Pala dynasty to Support Buddism

• The Pala dynasty ruled the regions of Bengal and Bihar for about 400 years, from the 8th century until the end of the 11th century.
• Gopala, the first Pala king, was a Buddhist.
• They used the revenue from the new tax collection methods to fund initiatives all across the region that would spread Buddhism.
• The Pala rulers followed an approach of religious tolerance, granting land for Hindu temples and allowing Hindu Brahmins to hold high official posts in the Pala court.

Tara is known as a deity in Hinduism and a female bodhisattva—central figures who delay personal enlightenment in order to offer earthbound worshippers salvation—or Buddha in different Buddhist traditions.

Monasteries

Monastic complexes were created for the monks for meditation and residing purposes.

Three types of architecture:

Stupa

• The first was the stupa, a significant object in Buddhist art and architecture.
• On a very basic level, it is a burial mound for the Buddha.
• The original stupas contained the Buddha’s ashes.
• Relics are objects associated with an esteemed person, including that person’s bones (or ashes in the case of the Buddha), or things the person used or had worn.
• 6 Buddist Stupas in India
  • Mahabodhi Stupa, Bodh Gaya
  • Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh.
  • Shanti Stupa, Leh.
  • Dhamekh Stupa, Sarnath.
  • Kesaria Stupa, Bihar.
  • Maha Stupa, Thotlakunda.

Vihara

This is the Buddhist monastery that also contained a residence hall for the monks.

Chaitya

• This was an assembly hall that contained a stupa.
• The central hall of the chaitya was arranged to allow for the circumambulation of the stupa.
• Famous Chaityas and Viharas
  • Karle Chaitya. It is a complex of ancient Buddhist Indian rock-cut caves at Karli near Lonavala, Maharashtra.
  • Nasik Chaitya. There are 16 Viharas and one Chaitya situated in Nasik of Maharashtra.
  • Junnar Vihara.