Visit Pakbirra for a glimpse of Buddhist and Jain sculptures and temples in Purulia’s Manbazar

The temple complex of Pakbirra lies around 10km north of Budhpur under the jurisdiction of Puncha police station inside Manbazar subdivision of Purulia district. It is about 40km south of Purulia town. Barely a decade back, the area was like an open-air museum with scattered sculptures of Jain and Buddhist deities. Thankfully, a gated enclosure has been built a few years back to safekeep the sculptures. It can hardly be termed as a museum, as there are no descriptions provided in front of the deities. A local heritage enthusiast, Nimai Mahato, elaborates on the sculptures to visitors.

Apart from these sculptures, there are three temples and a tall statue of a Jain tirthankara made of black stone along with a female deity standing in the open inside the foundation of an incomplete shrine. Behind the statue is a broken portion of a wall which possibly is remains of an old temple.

Although the major part of the three temples is still in their original condition, the remaining upper part has been constructed in recent times by arranging the stones of other ruined temples in a chaotic manner. Thus, it is very difficult to assume the previous original form of these temples. Of the three temples at Pakbirra, two large shrines faces north and the smaller one faces east. It is difficult to say about the original deities of these temples, as various deities have been placed and removed in the interiors over a period of time.

At present, the first temple houses a sculpture of Shantinath (16^thtirthankara) as evident from the identifying symbol, deer, at its base as well a smaller sculpture of Rishabnath (1^sttirthankara) or Adinath with identifying symbol at its base. The second temple houses a larger statue of Rishabnath and the third temple has an idol of Chandraprabha (18^thtirthankara), as evident from the crescent moon at its base. All four statues have 24 small statues of the 24 tirthankaras along with it. The temples are believed to be made between 12^th and 13^th centuries.

Mahavira, the 24^thtirthankara is believed to have visited this place in the 6^th century and had spread Jain religion here. Locally the place is known as Bhairab Sthan. Local historian Subash Roy believes there may be as many as 24 temples dedicated to 24 Jain tirthankaras.

Regarding the visit of Pakbirra in the mid-19^th century by the Armenian Indian archaeologist and photographer J.D. Beglar reporting to the Archaeological Survey of India, many scholars mention he had seen as many as 21 temples at the holy site. However, if you go through Beglar’s account, it is evident he found all temples in ruins of which at least eight were totally broken and at least one had only its foundation left and two were covered under mounds. He used phrases like “site of a temple whose foundations still exists” or “two mounds, evidently the remains of two other brick temples”. There were stone-built as well as brick-built temples. Currently, no brick-built temple exists at Pakbirra.

The colossal black statue of tirthankaras standing in a Kayotsarga posture atop a lotus with two small figurines holding Chamar standing on either side of the deity’s feet is the highlighting feature of Pakbirra. It stands inside an incomplete contemporary shrine. There is a worn-out symbol at the base of the deity, which is beyond recognition at present. While describing this statue, Beglar mentioned: “the principal object of attention here is a colossal naked figure, with the lotus as symbol on the pedestal; the figure 7.5 feet high”. Coupland also describes this figure as “a colossal naked figure with the lotus as symbol on the pedestal and worshipped under the name of Bhiram which is obviously the Jain tirthankara, Vira.”

Vira is another name of 24^th Tirthankar Mahavira but Coupland does not seem to be correct in his conclusion as lotus is the symbol of 9^thtirthankara Padmaprabha. Mahavira’s symbol is a lion. A criss-cross pattern crack is also visible on the lower legs of the statue which Beglar describes as “a natural crack or flaw diagonally across the thighs and feet, said to have been inflicted by the swords of Muhammadan conquerors of the country when it was first taken”.

At present, a small female deity of black stone stands beside this colossal statue. The deity stands under a tree branch decked with jewellery and a crown and on a lotus above a lion. One of her hands is broken and near her feet stands two figures of his one has being obscure. Though neither Beglar nor Coupland mentions this statue, there is a photograph of this deity taken by Beglar besides the statue of a couple under a tree. Beglar mentions about excavating about a mound and obtaining “five Buddhist sculptures of a late age”; of which “the most remarkable of these is a male and a female —seated under a tree”.

One can assume that this female figure was also obtained after excavating the mound. Present researchers consider this sculpture as Goddess Ambika because of the presence of lion. Ambika is considered Sāsan-devi (guardian goddess who protects Jain Tirthankars) of 22^ndtirthankara Neminath.

The statue of the couple in the photograph also exists but it is kept inside the enclosure. In the photograph the full statue is not visible but in the actual sculpture it is evident that the female figure is holding a child on her lap. Similar looking two other couple figurines can be seen inside the enclosure. Another headless and severely damaged couple figure is kept in this collection. There is another Ambika Devi statue inside the enclosure too.

The enclosure has quite a number of statues of various Jain Tirthankars , some of which are broken. Out of the statues which are more or less intact includes many sculpture of Adinath alias Rishabnath with identifying symbol bull, 23^rdtirthankara Parshvanatha with snake symbol, Mahavira with lion symbol, Shantinath with deer or antelope as his symbol.

Another interesting type of sculptures in this collection is votive stupas. They are a type of stupa that are miniature in size and are offered as a form of devotion. They also give an idea how the temples looked like in their prime form. There is a Jain tirthankar patta in this collection, which a rectangular stone slab having miniature tirthankar deities in 16 rows.

As you leave Pakbirra, as a heritage enthusiast you may run wild in your imagination as to how the area would have looked like when all the temples without any damage stood together and was regularly worshipped.

How to go 

Purulia town can be reached from Kolkata by train, bus or by road. For travelling by road, the 290 km long route via Bardhaman, Raniganj, Saltora and Raghunathpur is a better option.

Where to stay and eat 

Purulia town has numerous staying options. There is no descent accommodation or staying facilities at Pakbirra. It is advisable to carry food and water. The temple complex has restroom facilities which are missing in most of the heritage spots of Purulia.