THANJAVUR: The governments of Australia and US will return five ancient idols that allegedly were stolen from several temples of Tamil Nadu and currently displayed in art galleries in their countries. In a press release issued on Saturday, the idol wing CID of Tamil Nadu stated that the idols are being repatriated to TN through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).
Australian authorities agreed to repatriate three idols, believed to be from 12th century, which are now in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Among the idols are a metal idol of a trident with Kali (Bhadrakali), measuring 46 cm in height, 111 cm width. The value of the idol is estimated to be around Rs 2 crore, the release stated.
The second one is the stone idol of Nandhi (sacred bull) measuring 80.5 cm in height and 110 cm in length. The idol belongs to the Kailasanathar temple in Kaduvankudi village of Tiruvarur district. It is valued at about Rs 4 crore. The third one is the stone idol of the six-headed Skanda-Karthikeya (Subramanyar) measuring 130 cm in height and 110 cm in width. The idol belongs to the Naganathaswamy temple, located in Manambadi Village near Kumbakonam. It is valued at around Rs 2 crore. These idols were traced based on an FIR registered in 2016.
Similarly the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, USA accepted to return two metal sculptures. First of these two is Sundara Nayanar and Paravai Nachiyaar aka Saint Sundarar which measures 57.2 cm in height and 37.1 cm in width. The idol belongs to Nareeswarar Sivan temple of Kallakurichi district.
The second one is Somaskandar of 12th-13th century CE which measurs 59.2 cm in height. The idol belongs to Viswanathasamy temple of Alathur of Mannargudi in Tiruvarur district. These idols were traced based on a 2018 FIR, the release stated.