During one of the visits, I chanced upon a fragmented Buddha statue which seemed to have emanated from a desecrated or destroyed temple at a site on the forest road near village Lohra under Adhaura Police Station in Kaimur.

It was being worshipped as a van-devta by the tribals, who had placed figures of animals in front of it along with incense sticks. Surely, several other similar sites may also be found, and if studied they may open a new dimension about the history of the region, which houses one of the oldest inscriptions of Ashoka- the great dated 3rd century B.C. on Chandan Shahid Hill near Sasaram. The Chandan Shahid Hill seems to have been the seat of a Buddhist establishment in the ancient times.

It appears to have been visited by Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor in the 3rd century B.C., and the inscription was carved as a remembrance. The Hills lie along the path on which the Buddha had travelled to Sarnath near Varanasi after receiving enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. It is thus natural to expect traces of early Buddhist settlements in the vicinity. Several Buddhist remnants have also been discovered, but the holistic picture of the history is still wanting in details.

To be continued.....