A temple of the Buddhist God Mahākāla
By Debala Mitra
Summary
This article examines a temple enshrining the Buddhist deity Mahakala, a fierce figure within the Vajrayana pantheon. The author's main argument is that the stone image found in this specific temple corresponds almost perfectly with the textual descriptions of the two-armed Mahakala found in the Sadhanamala, suggesting a rare surviving representation of this deity in India. The evidence for this is the detailed iconographic comparison between the physical attributes of the stone idol and the Sanskrit verses describing the deity's two arms, black complexion, three eyes, skull-cup, chopper, and other terrifying features. The article also notes that the local hereditary priests worship this figure with both Vaisnava and Sikh mantras, and that it is known to them as both Mahakala and Mahakali. The sources discussed include Bhattacharyya's Sadhanamala and The Indian Buddhist Iconography, as well as Getty's The Gods of Northern Buddhism. The article provides a detailed architectural description of the temple itself, located on the Ratnagiri hill in Cuttack District, Orissa. The author describes the temple's plan, its five-part vertical body including the pabhaga and jangha, the curvilinear spire, and the crowning members. The temple is noted to be architecturally identical to Brahmanical temples of the Kalinga order, differing only in its enshrined deity and the Buddhist figures on its pillars. The author concludes that the temple is likely no later than the twelfth century and is the only known example of a Buddhist temple of this type surviving in India.
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Conclusion
This article identifies a rare surviving Buddhist temple dedicated to the fierce Vajrayana deity Mahakala at Ratnagiri, Odisha. The stone image of the two-armed, dwarfish deity corresponds closely with textual descriptions from the Sadhanamala, highlighting a unique iconographic representation rarely found in India. Architecturally, the temple is a significant anomaly; despite its Buddhist affiliation, it is virtually indistinguishable from contemporary Brahmanical temples of the Kalinga order. The presence of Buddhist figures on its pillars and a distinct crowning member are its only differentiating features. This discovery underscores the historical syncretism of the region, where Buddhist and Hindu traditions often shared architectural and devotional spaces, and provides crucial physical evidence for the worship of a deity whose images are otherwise exceptionally scarce in the Indian subcontinent.