MAYILADUTHURAI: Residents of Thirusaikadu village in Sirkazhi block were in a festive mood on Friday when a 12th century ‘panchaloha’ idol of Saivite saint Thirugnanasambandar was restored to a temple after 56 years.
According to sources, the idol, standing two feet in height and weighing 22 kg, went missing from Shri Sayavaneswarar Temple in Mayiladuthurai district in 1965.
An ‘idol collector’ named William Wolf allegedly stole it and smuggled it to Australia. It was seen in the National Gallery of Australia in Parkes. Following requests from India, the Australian government repatriated 29 smuggled artefacts to the country including the the idol, ahead of a virtual meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and erstwhile Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on March 21.
The idol was brought to Chennai on June 4, to Thanjavur on June 9. It was decorated and special prayers were performed on Friday. R Pushpavalli, president of Melaiyur panchayat, said, “We are happy about the idol being restored to the temple. We believe it will fetch people the blessings of God.”
B Chandrasekara Sivachariyar (77), a priest at the temple, said, “I was around 20 when the idol was stolen. I was overwhelmed when I saw the idol enter our temple again. This has added glory to our shrine and people have been longing for it.
”Villagers are joyous as the idol has come back just ahead of the next consecration the coming year. The last consecration was held in 2010.