Published : October 30, 2018 18:32 IST
Many rare 11th century bronze idols in the
more than 1000-year-old Brahadeeswara Temple in Thanjavur, popularly
known as the Big Temple, in Tamil Nadu could either be “missing” or
“non-antique,” a euphemism for fake.
The
Idol Wing of the Economic Offences unit of the CB-CID Police of Tamil
Nadu, led by its IG of Police Pon. Manickavel came to this conclusion on
the basis of its study of Tamil inscriptions on the stone walls and
“vimana” (tower above the sanctum sanctorum) of the temple, which it
then matched with the “historically dated” idols kept in the temple
premises.
The
Pon. Manickavel-led Idol Wing has been pursuing idol theft cases in the
State since 2012, and the recovery of two icons of Raja Raja Chola (who
built the Big Temple) and Lokamadevi in Ahmedabad this year brought the
investigators to Thanjavur. “After restoring to the temple the two
priceless icons of Raja Raja Chola, and his royal consort Lokamadevi
from a private museum in Ahmedabad, we have decided to verify all other
idols that are kept in the temple's custody today,” a senior officer
with the Idol Wing told Frontline.
“Every
detail about the temple’s physiological features was recorded as
inscription in the temple. Hence we have been verifying the copied
transcripts of those stone inscriptions and other supporting materials,
including documents, past and present, to ascertain the fate of the
bronze and other icons that were donated by the king, his family and
public to the temple,” the officer said.
The
investigation, he added, did not rule out the possibility that the rare
icons had either been replaced or stolen. “We are not ruling out the
possibility that this could have happened at various periods in the
existence of the temple. However, the documents on the idols kept in the
temple do not vouchsafe the antiquity of the idols. While many idols
that have been recorded in stone inscriptions in the temple are missing,
those that remain could be replicas that took the place of the
originals during later periods,” the officer pointed out. “Even a
majestic gold icon and four silver idols are missing from the temple,”
he said.
The temple inventory should have
66 “historically dated idols” as per the inscriptions. R. Nagaswamy,
former Director, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, in an interview to
media, said that King Raja Rajan had, in stone inscriptions,
specifically mentioned that he built this all-stone temple called
“kattali” (“kal” meaning stone and “tali” a temple). The king’s
inscription, running to 107 paragraphs, details the plan of the temple,
the gifts he, his sister Kundavai, his queens and others gifted to the
temple. It includes 66 bronze idols. “Even the measurements of these
bronzes—from crown to toe, the number of arms they had and the symbols
they held—are inscribed,” he said. Unfortunately, many have disappeared
today.
The official pointed out that of
the 66 historically dated idols, only 57 were recorded, and of them only
41 are found to be on the temple’s records today. “Most of the 41 are
suspected to be fake, replaced with similar images,” he said. Among the
historically recorded images, the missing ones include an idol of Kolgai
Thevar in gold, weighing 83 “kalanju” (weight measurement of that era,
equivalent to 1.77 gm), and four silver idols.
Sleuths
of the Idol Wing claimed that barring one huge Panchaloha idol of
Nataraja, weighing nearly half-a-tonne, the other idols needed close
scrutiny. A record claimed that four Natarajar icons of temples located
near Thanjavur were impounded at the Calcutta airport in 1974. One of
these could be traced to a gallery in the United States. “We have sought
the relevant documents from the Calcutta airport to trace the other
three and to bring back the one in the U.S.,” he said.
The
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), led by its Regional Director
Nambirajan, carried out the antique verification process of the icons
kept in the Big Temple using portable fluorescence spectrometers. The
ASI team also checked the antiquity of idols belonging to the Sri
Mariamman Temple and Sri Kailasanathar Temple, both at Punnainallur near
Thanjavur, and concluded that some of them could have been replaced.
In
the Pasupatheeshwarar temple in Pandanaluur, also in Thanjavur
district, many later Chola bronzes are missing from the temple’s safe
custody. Of 300-odd idols, 62 have been found to be fake, while 22 are
missing. The Idol Wing has filed six First Information Reports (FIRs)
and even arrested a few senior officials of the Hindu Religious &
Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Department in this connection.
A
staggering 273 FIRs on 1,106 missing idols have been filed so far. More
than 1,000 idols from 387 temples across the State have been stolen in
the last 25 years, according to the Idol Wing.
https://www.frontline.in/dispatches/article25371087.ece
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