Mogalmari The eastern forte of Magadhi Buddhism (Part -1)

Mogalmari
The eastern forte of Magadhi Buddhism

Atanu Pradhan

History is seeped into the very veins of  ogalmari, a small village on the south-west border of jaschim (West) Medinipur in West Bengal, which rained instant recognition with the unearthing of a Buddhist monastery, dating back to the 5th century. Believed to be the oldest historical site of the state, the excavation opened a new chapter in the history of Bengal and Buddhism.

What was assumed to be just a  mound, locally known as Sakhisenar Dhibi or Sashisenar Dhibi, turned out to everyone’s surprise a Buddhist site, and revealed many layers of Buddhist influence in the area after intensive excavation of the area.

However, before the discovery, the locals of this inconspicuous village believed the mound represented an ancient lore–the love story of Sakhisena, the daughter of the feudal chief Bikramkeshari, who fell in love with Ahimanik, the minister’s son.Their story inspired many literary works–Subodh Ghosh’s Sakhisenar Pathshala and the folk poem of Fakir Ram’s Sakhisena are chief among them. Interestingly, the name Mogalmari has little to do with Sakhisena’s story. Instead, it has links to the Mughal era. Historians, however, are divided in their reasons behind the name. While come believe that the name was derived due to the death of many Mughal soliders during a battle between the Mughals and the Pathans in the region, other historians are of the opinion that the village was named so as the Mughal soldiers used it as a thoroughfare.

The fate of this small village changed forever when In 1999, Prof. Asok Datta, from the Department of Archaeology, Calcutta University, in quest of some archaeological evidences of maritime trade of bengal through the river Subarnarekha of ancient times reached Dantan, a rural town on the outskirts of Bengal-Odisha border. Narendranath Biswas, a local history enthusiast and an educationist drew his attention to a large mound, lying at the village of Mogalmari. After inspecting the “structural aound” and the village, Dr. Datta confirmed of its historical importance and decided to undertake excavation at a suitable time.

Although, the excavation started in 2003-2004, it was only during the second phase of excavation in 2006- 2007 that the team found an extensive wall running in a north-south direction at eastern part of the mound. The wall was highly ornamented with stucco decorations, created over decorative bricks if uniform range of depth and thickness. Noticeably, the finding of a Buddha image, measuring 24cm ×14cm, emphasised the greater influence of Buddhism on this settlement.

Over the next few years and several excavations later, historians arrived at the conclusion that a buddhist vihara, probably from the 5th century, existed underneath the massive mound of Mogalmari. During 2007-2011, many artifacts and evidences linking the mound to Buddhist tradition were found. In 2007-2008, historians discovered a series of cells which probably were the residing place of the monks and bhikkhus. Also, the discovery of a circular brick stupa at the eastern part of the mound indicated that this religious complex was possibly a Buddhist one.

More confirmation about the influence of Buddhism in the region started percolating during the fifth phase of excavation (2010-2011). A beautifully decorated wall with stucco and lime plastered with floral motifs, predominated of lotus and lotus petals, was unearthed. Some human figures, such as stucco of a human head (possibly of the Buddha), figures of devotees etc. were also found. Delicate artifacts like human figures with folded hands, along with a pattern of Bodhi tree, emphasised
Buddhist traditions

Just outside the boundary wall at the southern part of the monastery, a circum bulatory passage ( Pradakshinapatha) was discovered. On this pradakshinapatha, a circular votive stupa was found of almost 1.59 meter of diameter. Some of the antiquities found from this place included–a terracotta seal inscription dating back to 8th-9th century AD containing Buddhist hymn, a terracotta votive tablet with an engraving of the Buddha in his dhyan mudra (Dharmachakra- prabartana) and two rows of miniature Buddhas at the bottom of this tablet, images of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, along with a large number of terracotta lamps, potteries and earthenware of post-Gupta period.

The sixth excavation phase further revealed more hidden treasures of Buddhism in Mogalmari.  undertaken in two phases, in the first phase, intensive excavation revealed another wall lying parallel to the outer eastern wall in the north south direction. It was magnificently decorated with stucco of several divine and semidivine figurines. The second phase of excavation unveiled various antiquities such as–Buddhist hymn depicting the words of the Buddha in Siddhamatrika version, terracotta lamps, stucco fragments, sprinklers, iron nails, footed bowls, hopscotch, spouted bowls, and
a large number of potteries.

Some notable features of the excavation at a glance:

• The earthenware found in the site was black and red coloured, which probably belonged to the Pre-historic Age.

• The excavated ruins of the Mahavihara till date are of three layers.

• 56 decorated bricks and Stucco figures were discovered.

• A gold coin, claimed to have been issued by the king Samachardeva, a king of the pre-Pala dynasty, and a gold pendant and gold crown were unearthed.

• The most important discovery is that of the monastic seal bearing the name of the monastery, Srivandak Mahavihara.

• This monastery did not stand in isolation. It was connected with the other monasteries like Nalanda, Vikramashila, Paharpur, Mainamati.

• A striking discovery of 95 bronze statues at the site.

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