An ancient Vishnu idol featuring all ten incarnations (dashavatara), and a shivling were discovered near the Krishna River in Karnataka’s Raichur district.
The centuries-old idols of the Hindu Gods were discovered during bridge construction work on the river near Devasugur village in the district. The crew safely retrieved the idols from the river and promptly informed the local administration.
It is believed the idols could date back to 1,000 years. The Vishnu idol and the Shivling are now in the possession of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Speaking about the Vishnu idol, Dr Padmaja Desai, a lecturer in ancient history and archaeology at Raichur University, told PTI, “This idol must have adored the sanctum sanctorum of a temple and must have been dropped in the river at the time of possible destruction of the temple.”
“The aura around Vishnu shows ‘dashavatara’ such as Matsya, Koorma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Rama, Parashurama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki,” she added.
Desai went on to describe its features and shared that Vishnu is depicted as having four arms, with his two upper hands holding the ‘shankha’ and ‘chakra’. The two lower hands are placed in the position of granting boons (‘kati hasta’ and ‘varada hasta’).
