ASI examines antique idols unearthed from villager’s house in Odisha
CUTTACK: A four-member team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Bhubaneswar Circle, has started examining 13 idols and a Shiv Ling unearthed from the house of a villager at Nahabhanga village in Biribati locality under Kandarpur police limits. The 13 antique idols of Hindu deities made of brass and a Shiv Ling made of black polished stone were discovered during excavation work inside the house of one Sambhunath Behera about 20 days back.
Sambhunath claims in his dream he got the ‘divine message’ that the idols are buried underneath the bedroom of his house, following which he dug up the floor up to 1.5 metre and discovered the idols. The ancient brass made idols include idols of Trinity (Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Bhahma), Lord Ganesh, Nandi (Lord Shiva’s mount), Garuda (Lord Vishnu’s mount), Goddess Durga, Goddess Saraswati, Ram Darbar, Panchamukhi Hanuman and a Shiv Ling.
The matter came to fore three days back when Sambhunath began worshiping the idols and the villagers crowded his house to have a glimpse of the idols, said IIC, Kandarpur police station Bipin Bihari Hota.He reported the matter to ASI authorities, Bhubaneswar Circle.
On being informed, a four-member team of ASI headed by assistant superintending archeologist Pratap Kumar Nayak rushed to the spot on Saturday to take a look of the idols. “We have documented the discovered 13 brass-made idols of different sizes and the Shiv Lingam and started examining those,” said Nayak. “It is premature to speak anything including the age of the idols. We are examining the idols and very soon will submit the study report to our higher authority as well as the Commissionerate Police,” he said.