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Prominent amongst the sculptures housed in the Devi temple is the exquisite statue of Akshobhya Buddha which stands just outside the entrance of the temple. Also, instantly noticeable are the fourteen carved pillars that date back to the 9th century. The sculptures are however in a pitiable condition, and seem to be neglected and plastered into the walls to save them from theft as told by the villagers. One of the villagers also informed that some statues had also been stolen from the temple. The priest religiously anoits the statues with vermilion and flowers and maintains the sanctity of the worship place. These images have also been described briefly by Saraswati and Sarkar. The Hindu images represent Mahishasura-mardini Durga, Ganesa-janani Durga, Linga with human face, and the Nava-Grahas. All the other images are Buddhist representing Buddha, Avalokiteshwara, Manhushri, Tara, Jambhala, etc. The temple is believed to be a modern construction, but Saraswati and Sarkar say that an older structure or temple stood originally at the site as seen from the carved pillars, a decorated door frame and other old materials used in the present construction. They do not however clarify whether this older temple was Hindu or Buddhist and whether all, or only some, of the images in the present collection belonged to it.
Sugatgarh Mound
This mound was mentioned by Cunningham and does not seem to have been explored further. Saraswati and Sarkar point out that from an eye copy of an inscription from Kurkihar published in Cunningham’s first report the name Sugata-gandh-Kuti is specifically mentioned in it as having been built by a devotee Abhaya-Chandra-muni from Kerala in Dakshinadesa. The villagers we met had no idea of its importance.
To be continued....