'9th Century Bhumisparsha Buddha’ idol found in Odisha’s Bhadrak 

A rare ancient idol of Buddha was recovered from the Baitarani river bed near Mudhapada village under the Bhandaripokhari block in Bhadrak district on Friday. 

The experts of the Archeological Department estimated the statue to be a relic from the ninth century. 

According to reports, the villagers first spotted the statue half-buried in sand on the riverbank. They immediately informed Biswambar Rout, a member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and a statue collector. 

Reaching there, Rout recovered the statue and subsequently informed the Archaeological Department. 

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The one-and-a-half feet high and equally wide statue is carved out of Khondalite stone. The posture of Buddha is ‘Bhumisparsha Buddha’ or ‘earth touching Budhha’. In this posture, Buddha is seen with his left hand resting on his lap and fingers facing upwards and his right hand resting on his knee and fingers pointing towards earth. Being an ancient one, the face portion of the statue is disfigured. 

The statue has been kept in the nearby Sholampur Bouddhavihar Museum. 

“After coming to know about the statue from the villagers, I went there and recovered it. It was a rare Buddha statue in ‘Bhumisparsha Mudra’.

After informing the department about the recovery of the statue, I took it Bouddhavihar museum,” said Biswambar Rout, a member of INTACH.