An unfinished Buddha statue, possibly from the 10th century, was found at Rosalpatty village in Andipatty taluk of Theni district by scholars from the Madurai-based Pandya Nadu Centre for Historical Research (PCHR).

C. Santhalingam, the centre’s secretary, said they received information from a student, M. Balamurugan, who gave them photographs of sculptures in the area.

“We expected the sculptures to be related to Jainism, which the district is well known for. But, we found that the sculpture in Naththathi Medu was that of a Buddha,” he said. It was extremely rare to find a Buddha sculpture in the southern districts which were a part of the Pandya empire.

“Other than Pandikovil in Madurai and two other places where Buddha sculptures were unearthed, there have been no other records or findings related to Buddha. Madurai and the surrounding areas predominantly have only Jain beds with sculptures and bas reliefs,” Mr. Santhalingam said.

The scholars who discovered the sculpture said that it was in an unfinished state, which meant that it could not have been worshipped by people. “The sculpture is seated with folded legs and the usnisha or tuft of hair has not been fully sculpted. A small piece of stone in the right cheek is also broken and the chisel marking of the image is not smooth,” he explained.

They were able to ascertain the possible period when the Buddha was sculpted to the 10th Century as the features and skill used in making the sculpture were similar to two other rare Buddha icons which were discovered in the southern districts of the State.

The team also found many stone figures of deities such as Muruga, Vinayaka in the area and architectural segments of a dilapidated Shiva temple which they believed was from the 12th or 13th century.