Tamil Nadu   

Buddha idol missing

The Buddha idol.

PUDUKOTTAI: A stone idol of Buddha dating back to the 10th century AD is missing from a coastal village in the district.

Former curator of the Government Museum, Pudukottai, R. Raja Mohamad, who unearthed the idol in 2002 in Vannichipattinam in the coastal Manamelkudi taluk, has submitted a petition to the District Collector and the Superintendent of Police requesting them to trace the idol. He discovered the idol, weighing a few hundred tonnes, missing when he visited the village recently. However, a few photographs taken during the course of his research programme four years ago have helped bring to light the exquisite carvings on the four-and-a-half-feet tall idol. He said the coastal village was believed to have been an overseas trade centre. The floating population of a large number of traders necessitated the setting up of the Buddha Vihar. “In fact, the place where the idol was unearthed is known as Seenan Thidal,” he said.

The idol was part of such a Vihar. The discovery of the idol in this part of peninsular India was considered a vital clue to the missing links in the history of Buddhism in Asian countries in general, and in India and Sri Lanka, in particular.

“It was a remarkable source to study the history of Buddhism in Tamil Nadu and Pudukkottai district,” he said.

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