Thanjavur farmer finds Chola-era sculptures in his field

Thanjavur: Two sculptures dating back to the Chola era were found in an agriculture field in Thanjavur district on Thursday. The sculptures - a five-feet Dwara Balagar and a two-and-a-half feet lingam - were found in two different places by farmer Kamaraj, while he was ploughing his field for samba cultivation.

A group of researchers headed by Mani Maran, Tamil pandit of Saraswathi Mahal Library in Thanjavur, visited the field in Kamadevamangalam near Bhuthalur. Kamaraj told Maran that he found the lingam and a small stone protruding from the surface of the field 15 feet away from the spot where the lingam was unearthed. On digging further, the team found the Dwara Balagar sculpture. Maran said that the lingam was carved using quality granite, while the hands and legs of Dwara Balagar were in a broken condition.

“The sculptures seem to be from the 10th century Chola era. Usually, we assess the period of any sculptures based on its appearance. The dress, ornaments and figures speak volume about its period. Sculptures made during Chola, Pallava, Chera era have their own identities. Based on these things, we usually come to a conclusion that the unearthed sculptures belonged to which period,” Maran told TOI.

Many sculptures unearthed by the team were placed in many temples in and around Thanjavur. However, people usually don’t like the sculptures in broken condition, said Maran adding that the archaeological department should take steps to shift them to the government museum.

Stating that each Shiva temple has two Dwara Balagar near the entrance, he said, “Another one might be somewhere around there. Further excavation may help find similar sculptures.”


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