Barikpur: Two rare idols of ‘Bhairava’ dating back to the 10th century were recovered Monday from the Baitarani riverbed near Mudhapada village in Sholampur panchayat of Bhandaripokhari block in Bhadrak district. The idols were found during construction work for a project. Notably, ‘Bhairava’, a fearsome manifestation of Lord Shiva is worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists. The breakthrough came when some workers engaged in work on the riverbed found something shining and found an idol.
Later, they found another idol close by. They informed local villagers who in turn informed INTACH member and researcher Biswambhar Rout about the discovery. Rout rushed to the spot and seized the two idols. He then informed the Archeological department about the discovery. Eminent archeologist Sunil Pattnaik stated that the idols belonged to the 10th century after examining them. One of the idols is 1.5 feet in height and built of black granite stone. Three out of its four arms were found broken with the lone intact one in a blessing pose. The idol has clotted hair and is being offered a garland by a Gandharva (celestial being). Two guards with weapons stand at the bottom of the idol. The second idol is built of khondalite stone. It is the idol of ‘Bajra Bhairav’ with four arms and mounted on a headless lion. One of its arms is in a blessing pose while the remaining three are holding weapons.
Later the idols were handed over to the Sholampur Museum for research with the assistance of local villagers including Gajendra Kumar Mohanty, Ramesh Jena, Bijay Sahu, Bibeknanda Mallick, and Amulya Jena.
