The seal found at Benisagar

Ranchi, Oct. 16: Archaeological experts have found evidence of a Vedic Hindu university of 5th century AD from a village Benisagar in West Singhbhum district. The place is 65 km away from Jamshedpur.

The findings are based on a seal recovered from there, which bears letters in nail-headed Brahmi script, belonging to the Gupta period.

Benisagar, inhabited by Kols and other aboriginal tribes, is located on the Jharkhand-Orissa border. At present, the seal is in the possession of a local villager.

The archaeological remains of the place consists of low mounds, ruins of bricks and stone temple, phallus and stone images. The mounds are scattered all over the place by there are many folded remains at a particular spot called “Devstathan” on the eastern embankment of a large tank.

The seal was discovered from the rain gullies of the mound. According to archaeological superintendent Onkar Chauhan, the circular seal with linear border, has a horizontal line bifurcating the motifs and legend. The motifs are depicted on the upper half and the legend on the lower portion. The motifs perhaps represents rosary beeds, kamandlu and Danda.

The legend, comprising well-cut nine letters, reads as “Priyangu dheyam chaturvidya”. “Priyangu” means well-versed in the four Vedas”. It has Brahmi characters from 5th century AD and Sanskrit language. The inscription engraved on the seal is of Gupta period.

Chauhan said there are enough Gupta evidence reported from the area. The seal is a private one belonging to Brahmins with knowledge of the four Vedas.

A large number of such private seals were discovered in the excavation of Bhita and Basarh in Kutch regions.

“The seals found from Kutch and Benisagar resemble as in both cases the script character used in the inscription measures 1.5 inches. However, the seal found from Kutch is of 8th century AD while the one from Benisagar is of the 5th century AD. The inscription on the Kutch seal reads “Sri Pisacha Chaturvidya,” he explained.

Experts said the Vedic system of learning was prevalent in India between 1st to 11th century AD. There were four education systems for Hindus —Charan, Agahara, Travvidya and Chaturvvidya.

The seal recovered from Benisagar indicates that it was a seat of learning, which taught the four Vedas. This is against the common belief that tribals of this region were backward as far as education is concerned.

Chauhan said the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been informed about the recovery.

He said he would make presentations on the subject at forthcoming Indian Archaeological Society meet to be held in Tirupati in December and Indian History Congress at Mysore in the same month.