Eighth century sculpture of Lord Buddha discovered while digging pond in Puri

The excitement of the residents of Lendu village under Kanas block in Puri district knew no bounds after an eighth century sculpture of Lord Buddha was discovered during the renovation of a pond.

According to sources, the villagers, marred by an acute water crisis, were digging the Sana Santa pond in the village when they discovered the headless statue of Lord Buddha.

Besides, the local residents also found some jewellery made of stones belonging to eighth century during the pond renovation work, sources informed.

After the statue and stone jewellery were unearthed, an expert team visited the village and confirmed that the sculpture belongs to eighth century.

“While we were digging the pond, we found Lord Buddha’s statue. When we excavated further, several other articles were also found. An expert team visited the village and said the articles belong to eighth century,” said Susant Biswal, a resident of Lendu village.

“Many of our elders told us that Puri King used to rule the area. The horses of the king used to be tied in our village. So these sculptures may belong to that historic period,” Mahendra Biswal, another resident of the village said.