Thiruchirapalli

Sources said the half-a-foot statue was found by Murugesan, a resident of Senkollai near Peravurani, while he was taking bath at the Munikoil tank in Nattanikottai. 

Sensing an object striking his feet, Murugesan reached for it. He then found the Buddha statute. 

The statue, weighing around 1.5 kg, is believed to belong to the 11th century. Buddha is in a sitting posture with the legs crossed in Padmasana. A ‘Tilaka’ (mark) is found on the forehead and ‘dharmachakra’ (a wheel that represents the Buddhist eight-fold path) can also be seen.

Murugesan handed over the statue to Peravurani Tahsildhar Baskaran, who with the help of workers, washed it and performed special puja to the statute, which is expected to be handed over to the idol wing police.

It may be noted that Buddha statues were found at several places in the ancient Chola kingdom that comprised Tiruchy, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Karur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Pudukottai districts. 

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