Rare Rain God Sculpture Draws Visitors At Panagal Museum
A rare 17th-century sculpture of Varuna, the rain god, is drawing visitors at the Archaeology Department museum at Panagal in Nalgonda.
A rare 17th-century sculpture of Varuna, regarded as the god of rains, is attracting visitors at the Archaeology Department museum at Panagal in Nalgonda district.
The sculpture has drawn renewed attention amid deficient rainfall attributed to El Niño and traditional rituals and homams being conducted to seek Varuna’s blessings for rains.
Carved in white stone, the sculpture was found at Yeleshwaram near Nagarjuna Sagar during excavations by the archaeology department. It depicts Varuna with his crocodile chariot behind him. Officials said it is among the rare Varuna sculptures found in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Temple priest K. Papayya Acharyulu said standalone idols of Varuna were rare as early Vedic worship centred on yagnas and formless cosmic elements rather than physical icons. Varuna, Indra and Agni were traditionally worshipped as forces of nature through fire rituals and mantras, he said.