Indian ambassador to Bhutan explores state’s ancient Buddhist heritage

Kendrapada: India’s ambassador to Bhutan, Sandeep Arya, visited the historic Buddhist sites of Lalitgiri, Ratnagiri and Udayagiri, known as the ‘Diamond Triangle’ in Jajpur district on Thursday.“Many Buddhist scholars around the globe, including those of Bhutan, are unaware of the rich Buddhist heritage of these sites and my visit will be useful for them to know about the historic Buddhist sites of Odisha. The famous Buddhist sites in Lalitgiri, Udayagiri and Ratnagiri are world-class heritage sites,” Arya said. At the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) museum in Ratnagiri, Arya explored a vast collection of 3,535 Buddhist antiquities, with 244 items on display across four galleries. The ambassador wrote in the visitors’ book of the museum, “It is a great pleasure for me to visit the world class Buddhist site and museum at Ratnagiri.”Senior ASI officials explained to him about the importance of the Buddhist site of Ratnagiri, also called the ‘hills of jewels’. The tour included Udayagiri monastery, situated 10 km from Lalitgiri, featuring a perfectly preserved doorway with ornate sculptures.During his visit to the museum at Lalitgiri, the ambassador paid respect to the relic of Lord Buddha kept in a casket in the museum. These relics, discovered in 1985, comprise tiny bones believed to belong to Buddha and his disciple. The relics are kept like a Chinese puzzle box in four caskets, one inside the other. Those caskets are of Khandolite, stupa-shaped, pale grey soapstone, with silver and gold enclosed.