THANJAVUR: IN one of the widely anticipated and celebrated homecomings, the bronze idols of Periyaperumal (Raja Raja I) and Logamadevi (his queen) were re-installed at the Peruvudaiyar temple on Friday, almost fifty years after they were stolen and sold to a private museum in Gujarat. The idol wing police recovered the 11th-century bronzes from the Calico Museum in Ahmedabad on May 29.
Draped in rich silk and decorated with flowers, the idols were carried inside the Big Temple on an open palanquin by devotees around 6.30pm. A large number of people gathered at the entrance and showered petals as they would welcome the Emperor and his Queen. Artistes played the traditional Sivagana Vadhyam, an ensemble of percussion instruments, wind instruments like the kombu and blew conch ahead of the procession. Classical dancers performed, accompanied by Thavil and Nadaswaram.
When the idols reached the second entrance tower, the Raja Rajan Vayil, Sivachariars of the temple offered Poorna Kumbha welcome to the emperor and his queen. Later, the idols were installed on a pedestal in the Artha Mandapam, the shrine of the presiding deity.
The idols were first taken to the Chidambaram Nataraja temple as it is considered the place where Raja Raja I was crowned emperor of the Chola kingdom. The idols were then taken to Kumbakonam to be produced before the court, which ordered the handing over of the images to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) department.
They were handed over to J Bharanidaran, assistant commissioner, HR and CE. Addressing media in Kumbakonam, Pon Manickavel, Inspector-General, who led a team to Gujarat to recover the artefacts, said the idols were recovered within three months of registering a case. Those who smuggled the idols and others who abetted the crime would be arrested after investigation.