Bhubaneswar, Aug. 10: Bankadagada, the capital city of the Sailodvaba dynasty rulers, was once a prosperous town. Now, it remains in ruins inside a jungle near the Salia Dam, 4km from Banpur on the NH-5 near the Chilika lake.

Archaeologists say the Sailodvaba rulers were powerful during the 6th to 7th century, and they perhaps started the culture of temple-building for the first time in the state. At that time, the temples were built like an amphitheatre as they were not covered. Later, in the 7th century, the art of temple-building changed its style and the covered temples emerged.

The archaeological place is accessible either from Banpur or Berhampur. If one is heading from Khurda, he or she needs to take the Niladriprasad Road after reaching Sana Sileipur, and 4km from there comes Bankadagada.

One, who is coming from the Berhampur-end, has to take the Berhampur-Banpur Road, and after travelling nearly 4km from Banpur on the Salia Dam road comes the historical site. Both the approach roads are motorable and one can hire vehicle either from Berhampur, Bhubaneswar or Banpur.

Superintending archaeologist of State Archaeology B.P. Ray said: “The beautiful carvings on the premises of the Shiva temple and the palace near the site inside the jungle speak volumes about the beautiful formative sculptural style of the sculptors of that era. We have also recovered several broken statues, which are stored inside a sculpture shed nearby, and it is likely to be upgraded to a site museum for their better conservation.”

Bankadagada within Niladri Prasad panchayat in Khurda district is situated near the valley of the Salia river, which borders Ganjam district as well.

Legend has it that during the reign of Sailodvaba ruler Pulind Sen, the king once saw in his dream that the next ruler of the dynasty, a heavenly personality, was coming from the Mahendragiri region. Pulind Sen followed the instruction and welcomed the young man and coronated him as his successor.

The excavated temple at Bankadagada is perhaps the one built by the successor of Pulind Sen. Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese traveller and philosopher, had also visited Bankadagada as the Sailodvobas were found referred to in his texts. The Chinese traveller visited India in the 6th century.

Archaeologist Ashwinee Satapathy said: “The carvings found from the site near the temple and the ancient palace near Bankadagada speak volumes about their perfection. Though at that time, the temple-building art was at a formative stage, the way the carvings were made, we feel proud of the sculptors.”

There are two types of temples according to the main temple and parswa deulas are concerned. One can notice the Panchayatana type of architecture, in which four small parswa deulas are surrounded by a central deity.

Here at Bankadagada, the central deity (Lord Shiva) was surrounded by seven small temples and deities. It is known as Astayatana temple according to the temple-building architecture and style.

Tourists can visit the place as well as Banpur, the abode of Goddess Bhagabati. Legends say that Banasura of Lord Krishna’s time was the founder of a kingdom and Banpur was its capital.

A visit to the Chilika lagoon, another beautiful destination, could also be planned with the Bankadagada trip. If a pre-planned tour is possible, one can even go to Barbara forests in the heart of Khurda district with many scenic spots.

Travel planner Debashish Mohapatra feels that package tours for places such as Bankadagada should be tagged with the Chilika, so that travellers could have the thrills of forest sites, archaeology and ancient Odishan formative temple-building style.