Buddha sculpture discovered in temple; Madras HC orders archaeological dept to take control

After the Archaeological Department verified that the idol inside the temple depicted the mahalakshanas of Lord Buddha, the Madras High Court recently ordered the Archaeological Department to take control of the property of Thalaivetti Muniyappan Temple at Kottai Road, Periyeri Village, Salem District.

The court also ruled that no more poojas could be performed in the temple; allowing the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) administration to continue treating the sculpture as belonging to Thalaivetti Muniappan would go against Buddhist principles, Justice Anand Venkatesh noted.

By Kshitij Srivastava