Assignment on

PaharpurMahavihara

Submitted to:
Ananna Zulfiqar Showly (AZS)
Lecturer
Faculty of Arts and Humanities
Department of Archeology
Jahangirnagar University

Submitted by:
FatemaMehezabeen Farha (1636)
NaziaIsma (1643)
ShampaAkter (1650)
Tahieat Foiroz (1652)
AfrinaYeasmin Tamanna (1653)
MehnazAkterOyshe (1655)
Anika Tasneem Hridi (1658)
MuhsanaShafiqa (1660)

Date of Submission: August 6, 2019

 Table of contents

Serial no. Topic’s name Page number

1 Paharpur: Geographical 2-3

Location

2 PaharpurMahavihara 3-4

3 Sculpture 4-6

4 Movable objects 7

5 The power of Paharpur 8-9

6 Salinity and neglect ruin 10-11

Paharpur terracotta

7 Interpretation of socio- 11-14

cultural and religious aspect
of the period
8 Road condition & safety 14

9 Recommendations 15

10 Conclusions 15

11 References 15-16
 1. Paharpur: Geographical Location

Paharpur an important archaeological site in Bangladesh, situated in a village named Paharpur

(Pahadpur) under the BadalgachhiUpazila of Naogaon district. The village is connected with the
nearby Railway station Jamalganj, the district town Naogaon and Jaipurhat town by metalled
roads. It is in the midst of alluvial flat plain of northern Bangladesh. In contrast to the
monotonous level of the plain, stands the ruins of the lofty (about 24m high from the surrounding
level) ancient temple which was covered with jungle, locally called Pahar or hill from which the
palace got the name of Paharpur.

The site was first noticed by Buchanon Hamilton in course of his survey in Eastern India
between 1807 and 1812. Westmacott next visited it. Sir Alexander Cunningham visited the place
in 1879. Cunningham intended to carry out an extensive excavation in the mound. But he was
prevented by ZAMINDAR of Balihar, the owner of the land. So he had to be satisfied with limited
excavation in a small part of the monastic area and top of the central mound. In the latter area he
'discovered the ruins of a square tower of 6.70m (22 ft) side with a projection in the middle of
each side'. The site was declared to be protected by the Archaeological Survey of India in 1919
under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA, VARENDRA RESEARCH SOCIETY of Rajshahi and University

of Calcutta jointly started regular and systematic excavation here in 1923. In the beginning the
joint mission carried out the work with the financial help of Kumar SARATKUMAR RAY of
Dighapatia Zamindar family and under the guidance of DR Bhandarkar, Professor of Ancient
History and former Superintendent of Archaeological Survey of India, Western Circle. The work
was confined to a few rooms at the south-west corner of the monastery and the adjoining
courtyard. RD Banerjee, who excavated in the northern part of the central mound, resumed the
work in 1925-26. From the next season (1926-27) onward excavation was carried out under the
supervision of KN Dikshit with the exception of seasons of the 1930-32. In these two seasons
GC Chandra conducted the excavation. In the last two seasons (1932-34) the work was carried
out at SATYAPIRBHITA, a mound at a distance of 364m east of the central temple. During Pakistan
period Rafique Mughal excavated lower levels of a few monastic cells on the eastern wing, but
the results were never published.

After independence (1971) the DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY of Bangladesh brought the site
under further excavation. The operations took place in two phases. The first phase was initiated
in 1981-82 and continued in every season up to 1984-1985. The second phase was started in
1988-89 and continued in the next two seasons up to 1990-91. The first phase of excavations was
aimed at establishing the three major building phases of the cells that Dikshit mentioned in his
excavation report and discovering the information of early levels. But in the second phase the
works were confined to clear the cultural debris from the courtyard of the monastery. After a
long gap a small-
scale
excavation was
conducted in the
temple area and
nearby
courtyard in 2007-
08.

Figure: 01: Ground plan of PaharpurMahavihara

2. PaharpurMahavihara

The monastery, The entire establishment, occupying a quadrangular court, has high enclosure
walls, about 5m in thickness and from 3.6m to 4.5m in height. Though the walls are not
preserved to a very great height, but from their thickness and massiveness it can be assumed that
the structure was storied commensurate with the lofty central shrine.

In plan it consists of rows of cells, each approximately 4.26 x 4.11m in area, all connected by a
spacious verandah (about 2.43 to 2.74m wide), running continuously all around, and approached
from the inner courtyard by flight of steps provided in the middle of each of the four sides.
There are in all 177 cells, excluding the cells of the central block in each direction; 45 cells on
the north and 44 in each of the other three sides. The central block on the east, west and south
sides is marked by a projection in the exterior wall and contains three cells and a passage around
them, while in the north there stands a spacious hall. In the monastic cell No. 96 three floors
have been discovered. Here the level of the last one (upper) is within 30cm from ground level,
that of the second 1m, while the third (lowest) is about 1.5m from the surface.

It appears that this sequence has been generalized in all the cells of the monastery. However, the
top most floors were removed while the second floor has been preserved. It is interesting to note
that over this floor ornamental pedestals were built in as many as 92 rooms. Originally the main
purpose of the rooms was to accommodate the monks of the Vihara, but the presence of such a
large number of pedestals in the rooms indicates that they were used for worship and meditation
in later construction phase. Besides the main gateway to the north, there was a quadrangular
subsidiary entrance through the northern enclosure near its eastern end. There was no
arrangement of ingress on the southern and western sides, but possibly a small passage in the
middle of the eastern block was provided for private entrance.

Figure: 02: PaharpurMahavihara

3. Sculpture
Apart from the central temple in the courtyard of the monastery there are many other small
building remains, which were built in different phases of occupation. The important ones are a
number of votive Stupas of various sizes and shapes, a model of the central shrine, five shrines,
kitchen and refectory, masonry drain, and wells. Still there are some structures whose features
could not be ascertained. The miniature model of the central shrine is located in the south of the
central block of eastern wing of the monastery. In this model the plan has been perfected and
made more symmetrical. Another important structure in this area is a flight of stairs, 4m in
width, projecting for a distance of 9.75 m towards the courtyard of the frontage of the central
block of the eastern wing. The last 6 steps are covered with stone blocks. In the southeastern part
of the courtyard, near rooms 73 and 74, there are five shrines of varied shapes with a highly
ornamented super-structure and a plan with a number of projections in which bold torus and deep
cornice moldings are prominent. The most interesting thing in this group is a structure showing
the shape of a 16-sided star. All the shrines are enclosed within a compound wall. To its north
there is a big well with the internal diameter of 2.5m.

A lofty shrine, the central temple, occupies the central part of the vast open courtyard of the
monastery, the remains of which is still 21m high and covers 27sq.m of area. It was built on a
cruciform plan which rises in three gradually diminishing terraces. The shape of the terminal
structure is still unknown to us. A centrally placed hollow square right at the top of the terraces
provides the moot point for the conception of the whole plan of the spectacular form and feature
of this stupendous monument. In order to relieve the monotony and to utilize the colossal
structure to serve its basic purpose, provision was made in the second as well as in the first
terrace for a projection, consisting of an ante-chamber and a mandapa on each face, leaving out a
portion of the whole length of the square at each of the four corners. The ambulatory passage
with the parapet wall was made to run parallel to the outline of this plan. This arrangement
resulted in a cruciform shape with projecting angles between the arms of the cross. An enclosure
wall strictly conforming to the basement plan, with only a slight deviation near the main
staircase, runs round the monument. There is ample evidence that this complete plan, from the
basement to the top, along with different component elements, belonged to a single period of
construction, but the later repairs, additions and alterations did not fundamentally affect the
general arrangement and plan.

Figure: 03: Stone Sculpture

Figure: 04: Buddha, Bronze Sculpture

Figure: 05: Balarama, Stone, Paharpur

 4. Movable Objects
Among the movable objects discovered from the site the most important ones are stone
sculptures, terracotta plaques, copper plate, inscriptions on stone columns, coins, stucco images
and metal images, ceramics etc.

Stone sculptures As many as 63 stone sculptures were found fixed in the basement of the temple.
All the images represent Brahmanical faith excepting the only Buddhist image of Padmapani. It
appears rather strange that such a large number of Brahmanical deities were installed in this
grand Buddhist establishment. The occurrence of Brahmanical sculptures in a Buddhist temple
indicates that they were gathered from the earlier monuments at the site or in the neighborhood
and fixed up in the main temple.

These sculptures belong to different periods and can be classified into three distinct groups with
respect to their style and artistic excellence. In the first group a considerable number of
sculptures depict scenes from the life of KRISHNA. There are some other panels, which depict the
most popular themes of the Mahabharata and Ramayana and various other incidents from daily
life of the rural folk. Their features and appearances are heavy and sometimes crude, without any
proportion or definition of form. Though the art is technically crude and imperfect, but its social
content is intensely human, highly expressive of liveliness, and therefore artistically significant.

Figure: 06: Bow-arrow, Teracotta Plaque

 5. The Power of Paharpur

Ancient records of early Buddhism, recovered from Tibet, identify five great centres of
learning in the Buddhist firmament of the period of the Pala Empire, which might have
been at the time, amongst the greatest centres of learning in the world, up to a t housand
years after the birth of Prince Gautama, the Buddha, “The Enlightened One.” Of the five,
two are amongst the over four hundred lesser Buddhist sites, in the lands that are now
Bangladesh; SomapuraMahavihara and Jaggadala. And, of those two, Somapur a, or
Paharpur as we know the site today, is certainly still the best explored and most famous,
as a UNESCO World Heritage site. There seems to be little room to doubt that, as early
as the last centuries before the Common Era, the concentration of early B uddhist sites in
Bangladesh represent a major source of early learning. There are even scholars of
Christian teaching who, detecting Buddhist influences in the teachings of Christ in the
Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, suggest that the precocious child found
debating with elders in the Temple, who only emerges as a great teacher himself some 20
years later, may in fact, under the influence of Joseph of Arimathea -- a merchant
associated with Christ in biblical tradition -- have organised for the young Christ to travel
to what were, in their time, the greatest centres of learning of their age, the great Vihara
of the Ganges basin. And Paharpur would have been of course the most accessible from
the great centre of trade in the Ganges Delta, had Christ made the journey, as at the time
many did, by sea. Whatever the truth of that speculation, what is more incontrovertible is
that, from the earliest times of the rise of Buddhist belief, Paharpur was “in the thick of
it.” Excavation has revealed that, unsurprisingly, beneath the undoubted construction of
remains of the period of the great Pala Empire (which had its roots in proximity to
Paharpur, and, who knows, may have derived in part from its presence?), lie traces of
buildings of the Mauryan period in the early years of Buddhism.We also know from
onsite evidence that it continued to flourish during the “Golden Age of India” under the
second century liberal Hindu, Gupta Dynasty (also with their own roots in close
proximity to Paharpur!). No doubt the expertise of Buddhists contributed to the
astonishing transformation of social, economic, and technical strengths of Indian society
that flowered in that period. That Paharpur was one of the most significant centres of
learning in the various Buddhist schools there can be little doubt; the sheer scale of its
estate and constructions bear testimony to its significance. We may, perhaps, attribute
that fact to its greater proximity to the great international routes of communication by
sea, and by the famous first of the great Silk Roads, the Southern Silk Road,
Brahmaputra, Teesta, and Lohit River routes into the Himalayan states and beyond, into
China.That the Sanskrit language developed hereabouts was also, in all probability, due
to this as a very ancient centre of trade, requiring more than a verbal tradition of
communication to support trade. But the ability of such common and written form of
communication certainly also facilitated the wider communication of beliefs, as well as
facilitating travel, social, and cultural interchange. It remains somewhat difficult to make
complete sense of the human developments of these lands with such a demonstrably rich
heritage of culture and philosophy. Not the least of these difficulties, of course, in the
case of the lands in and around those of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. And the rest
of the 700 or so rivers, tributaries, and distributaries of the Ganges, especially is the
simple depth of the annual deposits of flood borne alluvium. And today, politics also
plays its own part in revelation, and even suppression. Ironic, indeed, that the lands that
so clearly gave birth to beliefs to which over 5% of the world’s population today still
adhere, should be ruled by adherents of different beliefs! All of which would probab ly
have seemed absurd to the denizens of Paharpur, throughout much of its life. It may well
not be without significance that Paharpur stands in by far the largest compound, and is
easily the largest Buddhist site in the Indian sub-continent. Close to the origins of
Buddhism, just across today’s border and the ancient capital of the Mauryan Empire, it
was even closer to the roots of both Gupta and Pala Empires, in which it conspicuously
flourished. Despite the somewhat half-hearted endeavours of today’s Indians to “talk up”
Vihara on their own lands for the sake of tourist income, there may well be every reason
to suppose that, in fact, Paharpur, SomaparaMahavihara, was in fact, from early times,
the most influential and powerful in the complexities of the Buddhist faith, of the great
five. Paharpur is a historic root of Bangladesh to cherish, and to take pride in.

Figure: 07: Buddhist Bihara at Paharpur

 6. Salinity and neglect ruin of Paharpur terracotta
Terracotta on the Paharpur Bihar of Naogaon erodes because of lack of proper maintenance
measures due to neglect and 'fund constraint'.

Paharpur Bihar of Naogaon or the SomapuraMahavihara, designated as a UNESCO World

Heritage Site in 1985, has been in ruins for a long time due to poor maintenance and fund
constraint, said officials at the Department of Archaeology.

Apart from that, high salinity in the soil and poor drainage system cause decay to the ornamental
terracotta plaques, the walls and embellishments of this ancient Buddhist monastery, among the
best-known and second largest vihara in South Asia, they added.

Built by Dharmapala (770-810 AD), the 2nd emperor of the Pala Dynasty, the Paharpur Bihar,
one of the most important archaeological sites in the country, still remains neglected and uncared
for, leaving it to the mercy of vandals and thieves who are prying terracotta plaques off the walls
or stealing other priceless relics from the site.

High salinity coupled with absence of proper maintenance has already ruined a large number of
the terracotta plaques, said Shafiqul Alam, director of the Department of Archaeology.
Consultants are currently working to protect the structure from salinity, Alam said adding that a
project proposal, submitted a year ago to the authorities concerned, to protect the antiques and
the ancient monument is still pending for approval.

A large number of beautiful terracotta plaques, not less than 500, have been destroyed or stolen,
said an archaeology department official. Although over 1,800 terracotta plaques are still in place,
most of them are in dilapidated condition, he added.

Mahabub-Ul-Alam, former custodian of the site, said at least 500 terracotta plaques were
preserved in a storage area to save them from salinity.
However, high salinity and water-logging inside the central area of the structure have caused
parts of the major walls of the structure to collapse, said a high official at the Department of
Archaeology.

A publication of the archaeology department mentioned that there used to be a network of 22

channels that drained the surface or rainwater out of the site. In course of time, these channels
had been clogged up or do not exist any longer.

The drainage system has gone out of order and the higher elevation of surrounding areas is
adding to the water-logging problem, said another archaeology department official.
Thieves have stolen many of the ornamental terracotta plaques from the walls and some of those
have been damaged due to high salinity, heavy rainfall and damp climate during the last few
years, said the director of the archaeology department.Bricks in the walls are also disappearing or
decaying over time due to the same reasons, according to the officials.
 Figure: 08: Salinity and neglect ruin Paharpur terracotta

7. Interpretation of socio-cultural and religious aspect of the

period

The stone sculptures have a common ground with the terracotta plaques placed just above them
on the wall of the central temple, Paharpur. Both in terms of subject matter are narrative in
nature. Earlier the subject matter of the stone sculptures has been discussed in brief, regardless of
dating; majority of these stone reliefs mainly depicts colorful and magical events of Krishna’s
life, stories from Ramayana and Mahabharata, day to day activities of human being, occupation
of male and female (dwarpala and dancer respectively), relationship between man and woman
etc. Among the individual sculptures, such as Dikpalas, Two important issues which are still a
matter of debate; one is the dating of these sculptures, as they lack uniformity in terms of their
material, execution style, in some cases iconographic features. So whether these sculptures
represent three groups or two groups or a single group, is still uncertain. However; a common
link can be seen in the subject matter of S.K. Saraswati’s first group (6th century CE) and third
group (8th century CE) of sculptures. Another issue is the reason behind installation of
Brahmanical sculptures to decorate the surface of Buddhist temple. Dikshit in his report
mentioned that the example of installation of Brahmanical sculptures on a Buddhist temple can
be seen in Nalanda Mahavaihara. He further added these sculptures were offered as readymade
materials on the spot from the neighboring ancient Hindu temples, he also mentioned about the
reverse side of some stone sculptures which still exhibits defaced faces of some gods and a
particular panel exhibits the defaced face of Kubera. The theory of reuse can be considered if one
regards the irregular pattern of installation and diverse subject matter of the stone sculptures.

It has already been suggested earlier in this paper that recent research on the architectural
development of the central temple says that the Vajrayana philosophy was practiced in this
temple which once again indicates about the concept of polytheism. The Mahayana philosophy
(which introduced the image worship of Buddha and Bodhisattvas) was largely influenced by the
Brahmanical religion in Bengal. As a result tantric characteristic of Hindu religion was adopted
by Mahayana Buddhist philosophy in Bengal at the end of the 7th century or in the beginning of
8th century CE. This new form of tantric Buddhism introduced Mantra, Mudra and Mandala
along with six tantric Abhicharas (practices) such as Marana, Stambhana, Sammohana,
Vidvesana, Uchchatana and Vajikarana. These cults revived primitive beliefs and practices, a
simpler and less formal approach to the personal god, a liberal and respectful attitude towards
women, and denial of the caste system.

If we accept that the residents of this vihara (Paharpur) believed and practice Vajrayana
philosophy then it can be assumed that they had no reservations against using Brahmanical
sculptures to adorn the temple. Perhaps the idea was that the center of the temple would contain
the images of PanchaDhyaniBudhhas altogether and they would be surrounded by Brahmanical
deities on the outer portion of the temple in a comparatively lower tier. If we carefully look into
the subject matter it can be seen that almost a majority of sculptures represents the Krishna cult
and two avatara forms of Vishnu i.e., Balarama and Rama (both are pure human forms). Only
three iconic forms of Shiva and three sculptures of Ganesha are present. No representation of
Uma Maheshvara and Hara Gauri can be seen among these reliefs. Interestingly enough Vishnu
and Surya and all kinds of Devi forms (except for an individual form of Yamuna who was
probably represented in relation to Krishna’s narrative) are totally absent in these stone reliefs.
Perhaps the image of Shiva was included as a Tantric god. Instead of the Jataka tales they used
the stories related with Krishna cult which was perhaps popular in the region. Also they used
some events of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Among the secular stone reliefs one can see male and female figurines as couple or individuals,
stories of day to day life, like the amorous couple feeding each other, female dancing figures,
two persons about to start a fight, two ascetics engaged in meditation, a person asking for shelter
and security to another person, etc depicts the cultural and social aspects of the period.
Occupation, weapons used for fighting, dress and hair arrangements, ornaments, body postures,
attending figures, divine figures (Kirtimukha, Kinnara, Vidyadhara), flora and fauna depicted in
this relief tells the story of a certain class of people. Although it has been stated that the stone
reliefs were placed in an irregular manner, the presence of Dikpala deities in the accurate
direction of temple (Indra, Agni and Kubera - the current identification of Vayu was regarded as
Yama by Dikshit, in that respect Yama was one of the dikpalas) was deliberately done. As stated
by Asher that these Dikapalas were seen in the outer corners of Mandala. In this case these
images were perhaps installed to guard the different corners of the temple.

The terracotta plaques (8th century CE) on the above row illustrates the image of Shiva,
Ganesha, Ravana, Rama, Garuda, Kinnara, Kinnari, Vidydhara, Kirtimukha, and Gandharva
which represents the Brahmanical faith. The image of Buddha, Jambhala, Bodhisattva images,
Tara, Dharmachakra, Vajra, Stupa, Chhatravali can be assigned to the Buddhist faith. The subject
matter of terracotta along with other objects (human figures: male and female, animals, fish,
plants and trees) indicates a careful avoidance of popular Hindu cults and the inclusion of diverse
Buddhist elements. If one takes a look at the political situation of Bengal after the fall of Gupta
Empire s/he would see the rise of different independent rulers in modern days of North west and
South west Bengal. After the decline of Gupta Empire, during the late Gupta reign Bengal was
divided into three regions Banga, Samatata and Gaur. These regions were ruled by a late Gupta
ruler called Mahasengupta. During that time Shashanka was a chieftain who accumulated
political power taking the advantage of a weak ruler. After Mahasengupta’s death Shashanka
managed to capture the political power and established his kingdom at Gaur. After Shashanka’s
death Gaur was divided in between king Harshavardhana of Thenshwara and Bhaskarvarmana of
Kamroop. After the death of Shashanka the history of Bengal is not clear to us. From Lama
Taranath’s account it is known that a situation of Matsyanayam prevailed in Bengal for next
hundred years. Then north western part of Bengal saw the rise of Gopala in 750 C.E. through a
democratic process and the Pala Empire in Bengal was established. Simultaneously the South
East Bengal, after the rule of three independent kings Gopa Chandra, Dharmaditya and
Samachara Deva during the first half of 6th century CE, was conquered by Chalukya king
Kirtivarmana at the last quarter of the same century. The political stability was regained soon.
Based on Yuan Chwangs’ record and other epigraphical records, Samatata witnessed the rise of
several royal dynasties during 7th century CE - the Bhadra, the Khadga, and the Rato. The Deva
dynasty came into the power at Samatata during the first half of 8th century CE. During that
period King Dharmapala, the second Pala ruler was ruling in Magadha and Varnedra region.

The written accounts depict that despite political instability in Bengal the natural flow of both
Buddhism and Brahmanical religion was never disrupted. King Shashanka was a Hindu Siava
ruler. King Harshavardhana was a follower of Mahyana Buddhism. On the other hand the
Bhadra, Khadga and Deva rulers of Samatata were Buddhists and the Rato were Hindu rulers.
Interestingly enough both religions received royal patronage. Besides the 62 Brahmanical stone
sculptures and one Buddhist sculpture of Padmapani and one stone relief depicting the birth of
Buddha of Paharpur temple, several stone and bronze sculptures were discovered from this
region. For example, mention may be made of stone and bronze sculptures of Vishnu from
Rangpur, Khiar Mohammadpur, Mahasthangarh, stone sculpture of Gaja Lakshmi now kept in
Mahasthangarh Museum, Kartikeya now kept in Varendra Research Museum, bronze sculptures
of Surya, Sarvani, from Mahasthangarh, Kumarpur, DeulbariChauddagram, Comilla, Manirtat of
24 Pargana. These sculptures belonged to Late Gupta and Pre Pala period.28 Among the
Buddhist sculptures, a large number of bronze specimens from Mainamati (Bodhisattva
Lokanatha and Manjusri, Budhha in dhyana and abhaya mudra, goddess Sitatpatra) and Jhewari
were discovered.29 Several soft stone images like two panels of Bodhisattva Avoliketshvara and
Buddha with other accompanying deities from Kutila Mura, a standing stone image from Rupban
Mura were also discovered from Mainamati region.30 A few bronze sculptures of standing
Buddha and a four armed bodhisattva were also discovered from Bhasu vihara, Mahasthangarh.

Considering the frequent changes of political power, influence of both Brahmanical and
Buddhism and the sculptural findings of late Gupta and pre Pala period, it can be assumed that
the builders at Paharpur intentionally avoided the popular Hindu cults (Vaishnava, Saura, Devi
or Shakta cult, local goddess like Manasa) while decorating the temple with stone reliefs. Dating
of these sculptures is still a bone of contention for the researchers as the Paharpur museum at
present only houses 10 sculptures out of the 62 sculptures which were installed on the temple’s
surface wall. To determine the probable date (based on the execution style) of the sculptures one
needs to conduct a physical study of those sculptures. EnamulHaque recently ascribed the
sculptures which are currently on display at Paharpur Museum to 5th/6th and 8th Century CE
based on their iconographic features, materials and execution style. Asher assigned the sculptures
to 8th century CE. This problem of dating needs to be resolved to understand the social, cultural
and religious aspect of the contemporary society.

8. Transportation of Paharpur

Road condition and safety is the major issue. While moving we need to be confirmed about the
road condition and further safety on the road and within the visiting place. In consideration of
these, if you are not from northern divisions and not rode anytime there, we can say you will just
love to ride there. The highways of north Bengal are little busy with traffic but we think quite
safer than other highways of Bangladesh. The nature & weather is also very charming and decent
where for sure you will love to ride there. Road condition and safety is the major issue for the
bikers. While moving with bike we need to be confirmed about the road condition and further
safety on the road and within the visiting place. In consideration of these, if you are not from
northern divisions and not rode anytime there, we can say you will just love to ride. The
highways of north Bengal are little busy with traffic but we think quite safer than other highways
of Bangladesh. The nature & weather is also very charming and decent where for sure you will
love to ride there.

Figure: 09: North-Bengal road

 9. Tourism Possibilities of Paharpur

Attractive things of Paharpur:

 Terra-cotta plaques
 Images of different goddesses
 Potteries
 Coin inscriptions
 Ornamental bricks and other minor clay objects

10. Recommendations

In above study, we have seen, suggested drainage system by UNESCO and UNDP project
was not properly obeyed. The reasons of adoption of present drainage pattern are not
convincible either. Hence, the concluding remarks of this present study can be exemplified as
following:

Water logging problem remains very much an unresolved issue as far as properconservati
-on of an archaeological site, like this one, is concerned;

Present drainage system is not satisfactorily working to solve the water logging problem;

Over the last several years, few of the recommendations of UNESCO and UNDP
study(1983) have been adapted, and many others are kept unimplemented;

Implementing of those recommendations, however, is not desirable at now as there are

taking place a changed water logging scenario than what was actually being in
1983,unless persuading further study;

For improvement of the present drainage pattern, further detail study on the spot
indifferent seasons should be required and a sustainable solution should be made out.

10.Conclusions
The excavation work at Paharpur is still going on. Later excavations revealed many antiquities
including stone and bronze sculptures which belong to a comparatively later period (10th/11th
century CE). The stone sculptures of Paharpur have always been singled out by scholars because
of their interesting subject matter, material and execution style. If we keep aside the issue of
dating of these sculptures, they definitely represent a transitional phase of sculptural art between
the late Gupta and early Pala stone sculptures. Furthermore it represents the local religious belief
of the region – a synthesis between the Brahmanical and the Buddhist faith.

11.References

1. ^ Rahman, SS Mostafizur (2012). "Sitakot Vihara". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A.

(eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society
of Bangladesh.
2. ^ English, Elizabeth (2002). Vajrayogini: Her Visualization, Rituals, and
Forms. Wisdom Publications. p. 15. ISBN 0-86171-329-X.
3. ^ Dutt, Sukumar (1988) [First published 1962]. Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of
India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture. Delhi: Motilal
Banarsidass. pp. 352–353. ISBN 978-81-208-0498-2.
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19. ^ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GandharanAtlas.JPG

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