Art historian traCes buddha’s last journey through objeCts

After long, we heard from filmmaker, art-historian, Buddhist expert and photographer, Benoy K. Behl, about two recent discoveries: one of an ancient Buddhist site in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district. Another discovery is of a unique Hindu temple object, a Sati stone, which is being seen as among the earliest in worship in India. The Buddhist and Hindu sculptures were hidden in the middle of remote fields near Bihari village, close to Itkhori. “Hazaribagh’s discoveries are a major find, especially as it is in the region of Itkhori, from where it is believed that Gautama Siddhartha travelled to Bodh Gaya before he gained enlightenment. This is also close to Kauleshwari, where, it is believed that the Buddha had his hair shaved,” says Behl.

Behl and his research associate Sujata Chatterji had gone there on the invitation of Bulu Imam, convener of the local INTACH chapter and the Jharkhand Tourism Department for the exploration of the Buddhist heritage site. Imam and Behl were alerted about the last journey of the Bodhisattva by a poem about the Buddha written by Sir Edwin Arnold, published in 1879. Arnold wrote about Buddha’s north-westwards journey (the direction from Itkhori to Bodh Gaya) from the “Thousand Gardens” (Hazaribagh). As per the legend, Gautama’s aunt, Prajapati Gautami went looking for Siddhartha during his meditation. When she could not find him, she said, “Iti khoi”. In Pali, it means “I have lost him”. It is said that “Iti khoi” became Itkhori.

The Sati stone was found under worship in the Kanuniya Mai temple, two kilometres from Itkhori.