Six Rare Jain Idols To Be Displayed At Odisha State Museum

27 December, Bhubaneswar

As many as six rare Jain idols of various sizes dating back to sixth to 10th century BC would be displayed at the Odisha State Museum on its 58th foundation day on December 29.

Museum Curator Jayanti Ratha said all the six idols were brought from Biripada village in Rayagada district in July last. The idols were discovered by local tribals while they were digging the earth in June last.

One of the idols has been identified as the statue of Sri Chandraprabha, a Jain Tirthankar, on the basis of an inscription inscribed on it and efforts are on to identify the rest of the idols, the Curator said. She said this during the inauguration of a three-day long function organised here today to celebrate the 58th foundation day of the museum.

Inaugurating the function Minister for Culture and Tourism Ashok Chandra Panda said the state government will tie up with the National Council of Science Museum to develop five galleries in the museum for the visitors.

The proposed five new galleries were Freedom Fighters gallery,Human evolution, Patta chitra, Mining and Geology, and a gallery on Odisha through ages. The state would provide fund and the script to the National Council of Museum, the National Council would provide the guidelines to develop the galleries.

Panda said the government is also trying to develop a Gandhi circuit by linking all the places in the state Gandhiji had visited during the freedom struggle. Plan is also on to link the Gandhi circuit with the Freedom Fighters gallery in the museum to promote tourism,the Minister said.