|
Page3
There is a
temple at Balrampur commonly known as Palma Balrampur, a village about four miles from
Purulia on the bank of river Kasai. This temple has a number of Jain
images, some of which are clearly those of the Jain Tirthankaras. An inscription on
a stone fixed to a pillar found at this village was removed decades back and was fixed by
the roadside within the court compound at Purulia.
At Boram, a large village four miles south from Jaipur railway station, there are
three temples identical in design in ruins. These temples are clearly Jain in origin and
have Jain images. About a mile from Boram to the south, there is another shrine where
there are some images in nudity. This by itself is a substantial proof that the images are
Jain. The shrine is now taken to be a Hindu temple.
The most famous and better known Jain antiquities are at the small village Pakbira, 20
miles north-east of Bara Bazaar or 32 miles by Purulia-puncha road. The Jain remains at
Pakbira had attracted the attention of the Archaeological Department and J.D. Beglar of
the Archaeological Survey of India mentions about the remains as follows: -2
2 J.D. Beghar, Archaeological Survey of India, Vol.
VIII.
|
