| ARCHEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION REVEALS veDik ERA DEVATAAO AT GUNDUR IN TAMIL NAIDU STATE IN bhaart (INDIA)
From HINDUISM
TODAY: TIRUCHI, INDIA, March 2 , 2003:
Six stone statues, including those of Mahavira, Jeyshtadevi and Muruga,
have been unearthed from a field in Gundur near here where it is believed there
was once a temple. The two and a half feet high by two feet wide icon of
Mahavira, seated on a throne in a meditative posture, was said to be rare. The
idols of Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Vishnu indicated that a temple dedicated to
Vishnu existed in the past at the site, a view supported by the presence of a
Siva temple in the vicinity. The presence of "nilothpala" in hand suggested that
the three idols belonged to the early Vijayanagar period. The site was
identified about two years ago and permission had been granted for the
unearthing and safe custody of the statues in the museum.
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Six ancient veDik idols unearthed
By Our Staff Reporter,
THE HINDU
TIRUCHI, TAMIL NAIDU STATE: MARCH 2. Six stone idols, including of
Mahavira, Jeyshtadevi and Muruga, and an inscription, have been unearthed from a
field in Gundur near here, believed to have housed an ancient temple in the
distant past.
The two and a half feet in height and two feet in breadth idol of Mahavira, in a
seated posture and with two attendants on each side, has a tri-umbrella (mukudai)
at the top, with images of three lions at the base. The images of lions were
similar to the ones on Ashoka Pillar. Mahavira seated on a throne in a
meditative posture was said to be rare. The monolithic idol of Jeyshtadevi,
along with her son and daughter-in-law, was made of a rare stone and unlike the
one exhibited at the entrance to the Government Museum here, the curator, the
Government Museum, P. Rajamohan, said.
The idols of Sridevi, Bhoodevi and Vishnu indicated that a temple dedicated to
Vishnu should have existed in the distant past at the site, a view supported by
the presence of a Shiva temple in the vicinity. The presence of `nilothpala' in
hand suggested that the three idols belonged to the early Vijayanagar period.
The idol of Vishnu had the usual conch and disk with a headgear (`kritam').
Ornaments adorn the neck and hands of the three idols.
While the idols of Vishnu, Sridevi and Bhoodevi, because of their less weight,
could be immediately shifted to the museum here, arrangements were being made to
bring a crane to the site for lifting Mahavira and Jeyshtadevi idols, which were
dated back to the early Chola period. The Muruga idol, also belonging to late
Chola period, was yet to be retrieved from a nearby canal.
The site was identified about two years ago and permission had been granted for
their unearthing and safe custody in the museum.
The Commissioner of Museums, R. Kannan, inspected the idols.
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