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New dimension to Tara Tarini hill shrine

Sib Kumar Das

Tara Tarini (Ganjam district): Very few could dare reach the steep hill slopes, but newly discovered ancient cave at this hill shrine was the point of discussion among the thousands of devotees, who gathered at this hill shrine on Tuesday.

Tuesdays of Chaitra are festival time at Tara Tarini hill shrine.

Sudden discovery of this ancient cave on a steep slope near the top of the hill has added a new dimension to this ancient shrine which is on the path of metamorphosis with the establishment of a ropeway.

"The archaeological investigation of this cave is yet to be done and we will approach the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to do the research work on this archaeological finding," said Ganjam district Collector Sanjay Singh, who is vice-president of the Tara Tarini Development Board (TTDB).

Chance discovery

It was a chance discovery during the cleaning up of the hill top for developmental work. A servitor of the temple and an artisan involved in new temple construction dared to venture into the narrow cave to get basic data about its insides. The narrow passage of the cave opens up into an open airy space having a pedestal that can accommodate around five persons. From this point three tunnels originate towards different directions.

According to Pramod Panda, secretary of the TTDB, the village elders of nearby areas say this cave was housing yogis. Most of the historians he has interacted with say this cave may be of Buddhist origin of Ashokan era.

Ashokan relics at Jaugarh that happened to be a major administrative centre in ancient Kalinga are 7 km away. Huen Tsang has reported about 10 Buddhist monasteries and a large number of Mahayan Buddhist monks in the area that is present Ganjam district.

A statue of Buddha is part of the ancient Tara Tarini temple and relics of Buddhist era have been discovered from the Tara Tarini hill and nearby. Historians like Sisir Kumar Panda opine that Tara, the deity of Buddhists has got converted to the Hindu shrine of Tara Tarini.

It all hints at unfolding of historical mysteries of Buddhist Golden era through proper archaeological study of the recently discovered cave at Tara Tarini hill shrine.

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