An INTACH team including State convener AB Tripathy and Anil Dhir visited the Sitabhinji cave site, 32 km from the district headquarters, recently. This is the only site in the State known for its ancient tempera paintings which date back to the 6th Century.
The paintings depict a royal procession with a king seated on an elephant with a sword in hand, followed by women attendants and a few horsemen. On the lower part of the painting, there are verses inscribed in Sanskrit that describe the scene and its history. An engraving on a stone attributes the king to be Maharaja Disabhanja, one the earliest Bhanja Kings.
The paintings lie between two giant boulders known as Ravana Chhaya, and the place is named after the stream Sita that flows nearby. It is believed that Sita took exile here and lav and Kush were born in the cave.
Pre-historic implements and tools have been discovered in abundance in this area. The discovery of a four-faced Mukha linga confirms the early Shaivite influence in the area. There are many rocks with Pali inscriptions. Earlier, soapstone figurines and Kushan coins were also excavated from the area.
The site is an Archaeological Survey of India-protected site, but the beautiful paintings are now gradually fading away. Proper conservation of the paintings and the other archaeological finds need to be done, or a very valuable and unique heritage site would be lost, Tripathy lamented, pointing out that the conservation work undertaken by the ASI is not yet completed.
According to Anil Dhir, who has been visiting the site every year since the last decade, the paintings are deteriorating at a fast pace. He has prepared a report based on photographs taken in the last few years and is dismayed at the neglect by the authorities.
“INTACH Odisha is taking up the matter with the ASI and the State Government and is willing to cooperate in any effort for saving this precious heritage of the State,” the INTACH State convener said.