Patna: Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach)-Bihar has sought the registration of an FIR and legal action after a rare 1,500-year-old Vishnu idol and two other antiquities went missing from the Mukteshwar Mahadev temple in Devhar village under the Andhratharhi police station area in Madhubani.The missing objects include idols of Lord Vishnu and Mahishasura Mardini Durga, and the pedestal of a Vishnu sculpture.Intach-Bihar co-convener Shiv Kumar Mishra wrote to the Madhubani DM and SP requesting an investigation, recovery of the artefacts and action against those responsible. Mishra alleged in his letter that the antiquities had been removed by the temple priests (pandas).The Vishnu idol was discovered in a small pond west of the temple in 2016. Dating to the Gupta period, the sculpture is believed to be around 1,500 years old. American art historian Rob Linrothe, professor emeritus at Northwestern University-Chicago, visited the site in 2017 to study it. According to Mishra, no similar Vishnu sculpture had previously been discovered in Bihar.An idol of Mahishasura Mardini Durga, dating to the 12th or 13th century during the Karnat dynasty’s rule in Mithila, was found on a mound east of the temple. A pedestal bearing the surviving impressions of the feet of Vishnu, Lakshmi and Saraswati was discovered during the desilting of a pond in front of the shrine.Mishra said the temple was associated with the origins of Mithila’s renowned ‘Panji Prabandh’, the genealogical record-keeping system initiated under Karnat dynasty ruler Hari Singh Deva. He also alleged that the ancient Shiva lingam at the site had been destroyed by local people.Copies of Mishra’s complaint have also been sent to the archaeology directorate and Andhratharhi police station.Krishen Kumar, director of the state govt’s archaeology directorate, said the department would work with the district administration and take all possible steps in the matter. The Madhubani DM was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
