Spotlight on Itkhori's Buddhist legacy

Ranchi: A long-time conservationist and Intach (Hazaribagh chapter) convener Bulu Imam, whose work is widely known in India, wants Itkhori, a small temple town in Chatra district, around 140km from here, to be added to the existing Buddhist circuit.

To justify his demand, Imam refers to Sir Edwin Arnold's The Light of Asia (1879) that narrates in poetic form the life Prince Gautama Siddhartha, who after attaining enlightenment became the Buddha (the Awakened One), as well as remnants of sculptures and mounds existing in Itkhori, long seen as a confluence of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions.

Right now, the Buddhist circuit route broadly covers four key places associated with the Buddha - Lumbini (his birthplace, now in Nepal), Bodh Gaya (where he attained enlightenment, now in Bihar), Sarnath (where he first preached the essence of his religion, now in Uttar Pradesh) and Kushinagar (where he died, again in Uttar Pradesh). Some tours also cover Vaishali and Rajgir in Bihar, the former where the Buddha gave his last sermon, and the latter which was his monsoon retreat for 12 years; and Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh, the Buddha's favourite rainy season retreat and where he performed his first miracle.

But Itkhori is also significant, as the place from where he made his last journey as Bodhisattva - a person who can achieve Nirvana but delays it through compassion for suffering beings - before attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, Imam said.

"I became curious about this point after reading the book ( The Light of Asia) over 30 years ago," Imam said, referring to how its verses mentioned the Buddha's journey from Itkhori, that lies northwestwards from the "thousand gardens" (meaning Hazaribagh) along the banks of "twin streamlets" Mohana and Niranjan to Uruvela (Bodh Gaya's ancient name).

"Itkhori deserves to be put on the Buddhist circuit and declared a World Heritage Site," Imam said. "If done, it would attract international tourists who come in large numbers to Bodh Gaya (Bihar) that is only some 100km away."

He also recalled an oft-quoted legend that says Siddharth's maternal aunt came to Itkhori searching for him but couldn't find him there, prompting her to say " Iti khoya" (meaning "I have lost him" in Pali). "Itkhori is an altered form of Iti khoya," Imam said.

Scientific study of sculptures and relief work in sandstone around the Gupta period and earlier will prove the strong presence of Buddhism in Itkhori, Imam claimed.

The Jharkhand government on its part has also been trying to promote Itkhori as a part of Buddhist tourism circuit and holding Itkhori Mahotsav for the past few years.

"We are also supporting a scientific study of the region to strengthen our claim to include Itkhori in the Buddhist tourism circuit," said state art, culture and tourism secretary Manish Ranjan, referring to the visit of noted art historian Benoy Behl who along with Imam did a recce of the area last month.