Of a bygone era: excavations reveal Buddhist monastery complex at Bharatpur in Bengal

Last Updated24/01/2023

Recent excavations at Bharatpur in West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district have revealed the presence of a Buddhist monastery.
The site was initially excavated almost fifty years ago between 1972 and 1975 when archeologists from ASI and from Burdwan University found a Buddhist stupa at the site.

According to experts, what makes the site unique in terms of Buddhist sites in the State is the presence of a large stupa along with a monastery complex and black and red ware pottery from the Chalcolithic or Copper Age.
In other sites across West Bengal have found only smaller votive stupas.
A Buddhist stupa is a commemorative monument usually housing sacred relics associated with the Buddha or other saints or priests.
Whereas votive stupas have similar significance but are smaller structures originating in eight cylindrical structures.

The site was important for two main reasons:
Since it is an early village settlement on the bank of the river Damodar which could date to around 2000 BCE;
The Buddhist monastery complex.
Two significances to the site:
Secular which is an early village settlement,
Religious, which is Buddhist site.
The site could have been a nucleus of an early village farming site from where sites radiated to other areas along the other bank of the Damodar and other rivers like Ajoy and Darakeshwar.
There are early village farming sites at Dihar and Pakhanna on the other bank of the Damodar in the State’s Bankura district.
Excavation is an attempt to trace the cultural continuity of the site where settlements could have been located for thousands of years.

During excavation in 1970s, five beautiful seated sculptures of the Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudra were found.
These miniature sculptures, each about 30 cm in height, were most likely used for worship in the monastery.

The ongoing excavation at Bharatpur, also in the same region, has the potential to reveal interesting aspects about the extension of Buddhism in the region.