Stolen 60 Years Ago And Smuggled To USA, Rare 7th-Century Buddha Idol Set To Return To Chhattisgarh

The idol, discovered during excavation at the famous Buddhist archaeological site of Sirpur in Mahasamund district in east Chhattisgarh in 1939, is among the 657 ancient and historical artifacts repatriated from the USA to India recently, the officer said.

These repatriated artifacts are worth 14 million dollars.

State tourism and culture minister Rajesh Agrawal is soon going to Delhi to expedite restoration of the rare artifact to the famous Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum at Raipur, he added.

“The idol is a symbol of the rich Buddhist heritage of not only Chhattisgarh but also the country, representing the historical Buddhist legacy of India”, the minister said.

Mr. Agrawal has written a letter to Union culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to expedite the return of the idol to the museum, according to the officer.

The statue of Lord Avalokiteshvar, known as ‘Boddhisatwa Padmapani’, was among a major cache of bronze artifacts which were excavated near the iconic Laxman Temple complex in Sirpur in 1939.

The idol belongs to the late Gupta period (seventh century AD) and is related to the then ruling Pandu dynasty, historians say.

The idol was later brought to Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum at Raipur for conservation.

This was among five bronze sculptures stolen from Mahant Ghasidas Memorial Museum on April 15, 1967, records say, according to a senior archaeologist in the Chhattisgarh culture department.

It is yet to be known how the statue was smuggled abroad and found its way to the USA, the officer said.

According to historians, the inscriptions on the idol explicitly mentions the name “Draunagidatta”, a resident of ancient Sripur (modern Sirpur).