1,300-year-old Durga idol found in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam

Budgam, December 03: A wonderful news has come from the Jammu and Kashmir, as Budgam district police have recovered a 7th-century idol of Goddess Durga made of black stone from the Khag area of the district.

 

The idol is believed to be 1,300 years old. This sculpture is of goddess Durga seated on a lion's throne.

 

Senior superintendent of police, Budgam, Tahir Saleem Khan, handed over the antique idol to the department of archives, archaeology, and museums for preserving it. A team of officials from the Department of Archives, Archaeology, and Museums of Jammu and Kashmir examined the sculpture of Durga seated on a lion throne.

 

 

 

“The sculpture is carved in a black stone. This sculpture is of goddess Durga seated on a lion throne, the left side of the arm is missing from the shoulder, the sculpture is having the influence of Gandhara School of Art and right hand is holding a lotus," the police said in an official release.

 

Many Hindu idols have in the past been found in Kashmir, which was once a Hindu-dominated region with a flourishing economy. Interestingly, earlier in September too, a sculpture of Goddess Durga, also made of black stone was found from the Jhelum river in Budgam district’s Khan Sahib area. The idol was estimated to date back to around 1,200 years ago.

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