Residents of Melapulavankadu village in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukottai district unearthed a massive stone Shivling while desilting a tank on October 21. The four-foot-tall lingam, weighing approximately one tonne, was found partially buried and has sparked excitement among local villagers, who believe it to be several hundred years old.
The Shivlinga was first spotted by villagers while they were clearing the tank, which is under the control of the Public Works Department. Upon discovering the partially visible lingam, the villagers immediately informed local revenue officials. The authorities, accompanied by police personnel, arrived at the scene and deployed a backhoe loader to carefully extract the lingam from the tank. It was subsequently taken to the Pudukottai taluk office, where it is currently being stored inside a strong room.
Revenue officials, including RDO Iswaraya and Tehsildar Barani, inspected the Shivaling and documented its features. According to local sources, the villagers have requested that the recovered Shivlinga be returned to them, as they intend to build a temple around it and begin conducting daily poojas. Panchayat President Satish also submitted a formal request to the revenue department, emphasizing that the murti was discovered in their village and should remain in their possession.
The discovery of the shivling has drawn widespread attention, as many locals believe it could be hundreds of years old, potentially tied to the village’s ancient heritage, A local resident remarked, ‘This is a symbol of our village’s cultural and religious history, and we hope to preserve it by constructing a temple for worship’.
In a similar incident that took place in Varapur village, a 50-year-old farmer named Arumugam uncovered a semi-visible Shivlingam while digging his land to build a varappu. Upon finding the ancient idol, Arumugam halted the digging operation and shared the information with fellow villagers. Revenue and police officials were notified and soon arrived at the site. The villagers of Varapur, like those in Melapulavankadu, have expressed their wish to retain the idol and build a temple for its worship.
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