Pakbirra is a village in the Puncha CD block in the

Manbazar subdivision Manbazar subdivision is a subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India. History Purulia district was divided into four subdivisions, viz., Purulia Sadar, Manbazar, Jhalda and Raghunathpur, with effect from 6 April 2017, ...

of the

Purulia district Purulia district (Pron: puruliːaː) is one of the twenty-three districts of West Bengal state in Eastern India. Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district. Some of the other important towns of Purulia district are Raghunathpur- ...

in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Geography

Location

Pakbirra is located at .

Area overview

Purulia district forms the lowest step of the

Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the bas ...

. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills.

, shown in the map alongside, is located in the eastern part of the district. It is an overwhelmingly rural subdivision with 96.32% of the population living in the rural areas and 3.68% living in the urban areas. There are 3 census towns in the subdivision. The map shows the Kangsabati Project Reservoir. The Mukutmanipur Dam is in Bankura district but the upper portion of the reservoir is in Manbazar subdivision. The remnants of old temples and deities are found in the subdivision also, as in other parts of the district. The subdivision has a very high proportion of

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

. Bandwan CD block has 51.86% ST population, Manbazar II CD block has 48.97% ST population. Manbazar I CD block has 22.03% ST and 22.44% SC. Puncha CD block has 24.74% ST and 14.54 SC. Writing in 1911, H. Coupland, ICS, speaks of the aboriginal races largely predominating in the old Manbhum district. He particularly mentions the Kurmis, Santhals, Bhumij and Bauri. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, Pakbirra had a total population of 1,754, of which 864 (49%) were males and 890 (51%) were females. There were 219 persons in the age range of 0–6 years. The total number of literate persons in Pakbirra was 1,081 (70.42% of the population over 6 years).

Transport

Pakbirra is about 40 km from

Purulia Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River. Geography Location Purulia is located at . It has an average elev ...

town. A short stretch of local roads link Pakbirra to Puncha town.

Pakbirra Jain temples

Pakbirra Jain temples are a collection of three temples. Relics here date back to the ninth and tenth centuries AD. Most impressive of sculptures present in this temple is the colossal 7.5 feet high statue Shitalnatha and 8 feet high statue of Padmaprabha carved of polished black stone. Statue of Padmaprabha is also worshipped as Bhairavnath by people of Hindus faith. The temple has many sculptures including sculptures of Tirthankar Rishabhnath, Parshvanatha, Mahavira along with Goddess Devi Ambika and Padmavati. This temple have the basic tri-ratha plan with simplified squad of moldings and several level of the wall niches and lower façade stones. The large

amalaka An amalaka ( sa, आमलक), is a segmented or notched stone disk, usually with ridges on the rim, that sits on the top of a Hindu temple's shikhara or main tower. According to one interpretation, the amalaka represents a lotus, and thus the ...

fragments lying about, and the stone

kalasha A kalasha, also spelled kalash or kalasa, also called ghat or ghot ( sa, कलश , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large base and small mouth, large eno ...

with lotus buds emerging of nagara stying. The principal temple, contains preliminary chambers and sanctum. That temple, facing west, perhaps enshrined the colossal figure of a Tirthankar over 2 meters high, with lotus symbol on its pedestal. The temple also has sculptures of eight standing tirthankaras, including three

Rishabhanatha Rishabhanatha, also ( sa, ऋषभदेव), Rishabhadeva, or Ikshvaku is the first (Supreme preacher) of Jainism and establisher of Ikshvaku dynasty. He was the first of twenty-four teachers in the present half-cycle of time in Jain c ...

, 2 of

Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

Sambhavanatha Sambhavanatha was the third Jain ''tirthankara'' (omniscient teaching god) of the present age ( Avasarpini). Sambhavanatha was born to King ''Jitari'' and Queen ''Susena'' at Sravasti. His birth date was the fourteenth day of the Margshrsha ...

Padmaprabha Padmaprabha, also known as Padmaprabhu, was the sixth Jain Tirthankara of the present age ('' Avsarpini''). According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha - a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. In the Jain tradition, it is b ...

Chandraprabha Chandraprabha () is the eighth Tirthankara of ''Avasarpini'' (present half cycle of time as per Jain cosmology). Chandraprabhu was born to King Mahasena and Queen Lakshmana Devi at Chandrapuri to the Ikshvaku dynasty. According to Jain texts ...

and two images of

Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in ...

and

Yakshi ''Yakshinis'' or ''yakshis'' (यक्षिणी sa, yakṣiṇī or ''yakṣī''; pi, yakkhiṇī or ''yakkhī'') are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from devas and ...

beneath a tree with a Jina in the branches. Three

ayagapata Ayagapata (Hindi:अयागपट्ट) or Ayagapatta is a type of votive slab associated with worship in Jainism. Background Numerous such stone tablets discovered during excavations at ancient Jain sites like Kankali Tila near Mathura in I ...

or votive stupas and an idol of

ambika Ambika may refer to: Mythology * Ambika (goddess), an avatar of the Hindu goddesses Durga, Parvati, and Shakti * Ambika (Jainism), a Jain Yakshini goddess * Ambika (Mahabharata), the wife of Vichitravirya was also the mother of Dhritarashtra, ...

with child and attendant, standing on her lion, beneath a flowering tea are also present here. “Many scholars believe that a trade route passed through Purulia. The district’s temples and deities are mainly Brahmanical but have Jain influences at several places like

Telkupi Telkupi (or Tailakampi) is a submerged location of archaeological interest in Purulia district of West Bengal, India. The area, along with most of the temples situated there, was submerged in 1959 as a consequence to the construction of a dam acro ...

, Pakbirra,

Deulghata Deulghata (also called Deulghat), near Baram in the Arsha (community development block) in the Purulia Sadar subdivision of the Purulia district of West Bengal, India, has ancient/ medieval temples. Geography Location Deulghata is located at ...

, Budhpur and Suisa.”

Pakbirra picture gallery

File:Pakbirra_Jain_Shrine_of_Purulia_03.jpg, Pakbirra Jain Shrine File:Large Statue of Padmaprabha at Pakbirra 03.jpg, 7.5 feet statue of

Shitalanatha Shitalanatha was the tenth tirthankara of the present age according to Jainism. According to Jain beliefs, he became a siddha, a liberated soul which has destroyed all of its karma. Jains believe Shitalanatha was born to King Dradhrath and Quee ...

File:Statue_of_Adinath_at_Pakbirra_Jain_Shrine_of_Purulia_05.jpg, 4 ft. high Statue of Adinath at Pakbirra Jain Shrine, Purulia File:Statue_of_Parshwanath_at_Pakbirra.jpg, Parshvanatha idol File:Statue of Ambika at Pakbirra.jpg, Statue of Ambika at Pakbirra File:Pakbirra_Jain_Shrine_of_Purulia_52.jpg, Sahstra pat - a stone plate housing 356 idols of Tirthankars with Lord Adinath seated in the middle

References

External links

{{Jain centres in West Bengal Villages in Purulia district Jain temples in West Bengal Tourist attractions in Purulia district