On my way back from a recent trip to Paradeep Port, I took a detour to, what people told me, were important ruins of a Buddhist period university.
The place is called Ratnagiri and is about 18 kms. off the Chandikhol-Paradeep highway (NH-5A). In fact it is part of a troika of Buddhist shrines within a few kms. of each other. These are Ratnagiri, Udaygiri and Lalitagiri. So off we went to Ratnagiri via a single lane road meandering through small hillocks and green valleys. The weather was very pleasant as the sky was overcast.
By the time we reached the site, it was late evening and we were told at the ASI ticket counter that the museum had already closed for the day. Disappointing as it was, we went around the ruins consisting of a few stupas and remains of a few monasteries.
The ASI plaque at the site states that excavations prove that the Ratnagiri was a great Tantrik centre of Buddhism comparable to Nalanda in Bihar. It is reportedly dating back to 5th century AD and went into decline by 13th century AD, though it continued as a Buddhist establishment till 16th century AD. The site was excavated by ASI in late 1960s.
As we had reached the site very late, it soon turned dark and hence we could not see the site in great detail. I was also not carrying my camera on this trip, so a few photographs seen here were taken with my phone in the fading light. I plan to go there once again with my camera equipment.
A walk around the ruins clearly shows that there is still a lot buried under the hillock that remains to be excavated. A casual discussion revealed that because of the budget constraints and the fact that it would have been ‘more of the same thing’, further excavations were abandoned after the initial success.
Note: This blog was originally posted by me in 2010 on another blog-site