6-headed idol unearthed in Kullu village

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, April 13

An ancient stone idol has been found during digging work near a house at Bashkola village, near Patlikul, in the Naggar block of the district. A large number of people thronged the place to have a sight of the newly discovered idol.

The idol with six heads and a spear in hand was found in the fields of one Sher Singh. A water mill (gharat) used to be at the place where the idol was found. Singh said he had broken a big boulder buried about 20 ft deep to build a house. He said after extracting the boulder, further 5 ft digging was carried out to build gabions in the area.

While digging at the site, the workers had found the statue, he said. It is being speculated that the idol is of Lord Karthik Swami, as idols of Karthik Swami in temples at Simsa and Khakhnal villages, adjacent to Manali, also have six heads.

There are hundreds of temples in Kullu and sculptures and artifacts are often found during digging around these temples. Some temples here are believed to have been constructed by the Pandavas during their period of exile in Mahabharata.

In April last year, an ancient idol was found in Bhalthi Narayan temple in the Lug valley while digging for the construction of a retaining wall of the temple. The idol was expected to be from the 16th century.

Another ancient idol was also found on the premises of deity Jwani Mahadev’s temple at Neuli in Kharal valley, adjacent to Kullu town, in February last year.