Search Buddhist Channel
Buddhist sculptures found in digging in Mainpuri village
by Faiz Rahman Siddiqui,TNN, Sep 3, 2015
KANPUR, India -- Villagers found several Buddhist sculptures, including a 100kg headless statue of Lord Buddha, during digging in a private farm in Mainpuri district on Monday.
<< Villagers found several Buddhist sculptures in a private farm in Mainpuri district
Sources said that the sculptures and the broken idol of Lord Buddha belong to Kanishka's era. A farmer in Gwaltoli village found the statue while he was digging his field on Monday, said an official.
According to local experts, the Buddha statue is carved out of a yellow stone and weighs around 100 kg. It was found along with 11 other small and big idols from the fields of one Manoj Yadav in Gwaltoli village.
"As the statues are precious, we have informed senior officers who would contact the officials of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) so that they are properly preserved," SHO Kotwali told TOI on Tuesday.
R P Singh, associate professor at Chaudhary Charan Singh Post-Graduate Degree College, Saifai (Etawah) said, "The statues belong to King Kanishka's period (Ist or 2nd century AD). Earlier in October, ancient idols of Lord Shiva were found from Asyoli village, which is about one km from Gwaltoli village."
The villagers have kept the huge idol of Lord Buddha under a tree and have started worshipping it. Apart from Lord Buddha's statue, there are 11 other statues, a few among which, were taken away by the villagers.
An Appeal
In deep gratitude for your support! We are half way to meeting our target (US$ 10,400 of US$ 18,000 already achieved)!
The Buddhist Channel is a dedicated group of "mindful communication practitioners" striving to make a positive impact on the Buddhist community. We deeply believe in the power of mindful journalism and are reaching out to you with a heartfelt request for your support. Your donation, no matter the size, can make a tangible difference in the lives of countless Buddhist monastics, local communities and other dedicated engaged workers. With your help, we make their stories known, and thereby opening up avenues for them to obtain sustainable support for their work.
Please indicate whether your support will be a donation or a loan. We will get back to you via email. We thank you in advance for providing us financial relieve. May the Buddha Dharma ever be your guide and protector.
Note: To date, we have received the following:
US$ 900 from Esa Myllykoski (donation)
US$ 9,500 from Lance Edwards/Kau Soo Kin (loan)
We express our deep gratitude for the support and generosity.
If you have any enquiries, please write to: editor@buddhistchannel.tv