The undivided Cuttack District of Odisha has strong evidence of Buddhist Culture of Odisha. Most of the Buddhist is belonging to handloom weavers in the Cuttack District. It is believed that the Saraka Tanti is very old and founder of Handloom weaver in the Cuttack District. The Saraka Tanti named as handloom weaver when the Buddhism came to Odisha. They became the followers of Buddhism and they are engaged in production of Uttari Gamuchha for Bouddha Sanyasi.

By the Passage of the time, in the Cuttack district Buddhist are engaged in the production of different types of Sarees including Khandua Pata Saree was famous for design and colour. Khandua also known as Maniabandi Saree which is a general "Bandha" design or  ikat  design sari made and worn by women of Maniabandha or Nuapatana of Cuttack district of Odisha for during wedding. These handloom clothes or products have the texts extract from Gita Govinda of Jaydev. Another Pata Saree known as Kenduli pata or Khandua Saree, is a extraordinary types of Khandua Pata having 12 ft and 2 kani (Extreme part of Saree measures by the hand length) is presented to Lord Jagannatha  with stanzas and design of Gita Govinda.

Weaver from Handloom communities of Badamba Block and Nuapatana of Tigiria Block of the Cuttack district culturally weave this type of pata Sare. In the ruling of Gajapatis in Odisha Sarees are produced and given to the Temple of Lord Jagannath .
According to the legend, the Sarakas arrived in the court of Prataprudra Deva (Sterling 1904:80-81) (1490-1538) in his twenty-eighth regnal year i.e. 1518 CE. They belonged to an ancient guild of weavers and came to Odisha from the Nandi village of Vardhaman. A debate was organized between them and the Brahmins in the royal court in which the Buddhists had to face defeat and as a result they were expelled from the area. Thereafter, they separated and sought refuge in remote and hilly parts of the country. Now a day’s these Buddhists weavers reside in the following areas of Odisha, Athagarh, Nuapatna, Abhimanpur, Maniabandha, Mahammadpur, Ragadi of Cuttack district.
The present Buddhist weavers have the following surnames Patra, Chanda, Das, Paramanika, Mahapatra, Datta, Vardhana, Devta, Kara, Pala, Behera, Nandi besides it, two new surnames are being used i.e. Dalei and Naha. It was the recognition, help and development of Buddhism in other parts of the world in general and India in particular, which indirectly helped these Sarakas to come forth and proclaim themselves as Buddhists. Today the image of Buddha can be seen installed in almost all the Saraka houses. On Buddhapurnima day all the Sarakas meet at a place and celebrate it with enthusiasm. They have even formed an ‘All Odisha Buddhist Association’ called ‘Rastriya Bauddha Sangha’ at Ragadi in Banki in Khurda district. They have their meetings annually Buddhist congregations are held in every Saraka settlement on every ashtami, the eight lunar days, which occurs four or five times in a month. In these congregations they discuss about Buddha and Buddhism. Nowadays, these Neo-Buddhists have also started making pilgrimages to ancient Buddhist sites like Dhauli, Lalitgiri, Udaygiri, Langudi, Ratnagiri etc.

Relationship between Buddhism and Jagannatha Culture

The Buddhist handloom weavers of study area have strong relationship the Jagannath Temple of Puri. The record of temple, evident that in the 12 th  century, A Pata Khandua presented to Lord Jagannath of Ikat design made by Buddhist handloom weavers which had the text of Gita Govinda fixed on it. From that era, the Buddhist handloom weavers in study area are sincerely connected with the culture of Lord Jagannath.
The Maniabandha of Badamba Block, Nuapatana of Tigiria Block, Mahammadpur of Nischintakoili block and Ragadi of Banki Block weavers are perhaps the traditional Buddhists of Odisha. They believe in non-violence. They are also pure vegetarians which are proving from their weaving in the handloom products. Khandua Pata, is one of the instance of them. They also producing others products liki Body Bandha Saree, Kumbha Saree, Buti Saree, Scrafs, Gamuchhha, Handkerchiefs which have Buddhist cultures in their designs.

CULTURAL STATUS OF HANDLOOM WEAVERS IN THE STUDY AREA:

Kalinga /Utkal /Odisha had a continuous tradition of  dharmic (religious) religions  especially Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, in its long history.  Ashoka 's conquest of Kalinga converted Buddhism as a principal religion in the state which led to building of numerous Stupas and buddhist learning centres. Currently, the most of people in the state of Odisha are Hindus.
Indian handloom product celebrated for their supreme and excellence, were in the huge order not only inside the country but in many overseas land. They were sent abroad in sizeable quantities even in the days of 'Gautam Buddha'. Indian cotton was demanded not only by Eastern market from Cairo to China, but from the European market. Indians had captured the linglish market so firmly that the Manchester's cloth was stopped by legislation. India exported more than 200 varieties o f cotton throughout the world and its famous product o f Dacca Muslin o f Bangaladesh known as "Ab-i-rawan" (Running water), "Baffi- hawa" (W oven air), "Shab-i-nani" (Evening Due). (Source: Hameed, A.( 1986), “A Study of Handloom Industry in India”, pp. 21)
The Gossamer silk of Varanasi, fine Muslin of Dacca and Patola o f Baroda and other fabrics of Assam, Manipur, Odisha and South India have been famous for ages. Export o f hand woven cloth dates back to the time of Gautama Buddha. The handloom products o f India occupied a priceless position in the early civili/ations of Ugypt, Rome and Babylon. (Source: Nanekar K.R (1968), “Handloom Industry in Madhya Pradesh” pp.2)