Experts urge preservation of rare Pala-period Ganesha idol

Patna: Former regional director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Phani Kant Mishra, and state co-convener of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) Shiv Kumar Mishra have urged the state culture department to preserve in a museum a rare idol of Ganesha from the Pala period (8th-9th century) that was found two days ago while ploughing a field at Simri Bakhtiyarpur village in Saharsa district.

They said the idol is currently kept in a local temple, which is not very safe from an archaeological point of view.According to a local activist Amit Anand, the idol was discovered at a depth of about two feet in the field of Sita Ram Yadav during digging work. The place is located near the Baba Mateshwar Nath temple.Incidentally, about a decade ago, a 2.5-ft-tall idol of Shivling belonging to the eighth century AD was found while digging earth near a public health centre (PHC) at Mahishi, barely 300 metres north of the famous Ugratara temple complex in Saharsa district.

The Mahishi village, associated with Mandan Mishra, lies about 10 km from Simri Bakhtiyarpur. Some other rare idols have also been discovered from this locality, villagers said.Giving details of the Ganesha statue, the former regional director said the idol is made of black schist (a soft metamorphic rock) and has four arms, a pot belly and is seated on a lotus pedestal with a mouse carved at the base. He said it appears that the statue had long ago been detached from a temple complex and thrown into the field.

It appears to belong to the 8th century AD.He pointed out that the entire Mithila region is rich in such rare and valuable idols from the ancient period, which must be preserved properly by the authorities concerned. The recent initiative of the govt to start fresh excavations at the Balirajgarh complex in Madhubani will certainly reveal the rich cultural heritage of this historically important region, Mishra added.