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 () 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- Adra, Manbazar ...

in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 th ...

. 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 The Mukutmanipur Dam is a dam in Khatra subdivision of Bankura district in the state of West Bengal, India. The Kangsabati River, also known as the Kasai and Kumari, originates from the Chota Nagpur Plateau in West Bengal. It flows through the di ...

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. 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, 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, officially Purulia Sadar, 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 locate ...

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 (), 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 symbolic seat for ...

fragments lying about, and the stone

kalasha A kalasha, also called Pūrṇa-Kalaśa, Pūrṇa-Kumbha, Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa, also called ghat or ghot or kumbh ( , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large ...

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 (Devanagari: ऋषभनाथ), also Rishabhadeva (Devanagari: ऋषभदेव, ), Rishabha (Devanagari: ऋषभ, ) or Ikshvaku (Devanagari: इक्ष्वाकु, ''Ikṣvāku''), is the first (Supreme preacher) ...

, 2 of

Mahavira Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...

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 Shravasti. 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 ...

Chandraprabha Chandraprabha () or Chandranatha is the eighth Tirthankara of of Jainism in the present age (). According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Mahasena and Queen Lakshmana Devi at Chandrapuri to the Ikshvaku dynasty. According to Jain ...

and two images of

Yaksha The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology 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 Hindu, Jain and Bud ...

and

Yakshi Yakshinis or Yakshis (, , Prakrit: ) are a class of female nature spirits in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religious mythologies that are different from Devas and Asuras and Gandharvas or Apsaras. Yakshinis and their male counterparts, the Yaks ...

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 with child and attendant, standing on her lion, beneath a flowering tea are also present here.

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