Navapashanam Murugan idol found damaged

Chennai: Revenue authorities on Sunday inspected a temple in Chromepet following a complaint of damage to the ‘navapashanam' Murugan idol.

The statue's pedestal, which was circular when installed several years ago, was altered to a square shape, and there were signs that someone tried to scrape the navapashanam alloy, said Pallavaram tahsildar T Arumugam, who headed the inspection.

A navapashanam idol is crafted from a unique blend of nine herbs and minerals. In Tamil Nadu, it is widely believed that Palani Murugan Temple houses the only Navapashanam idol crafted by Siddhar Bogar. A less-known fact is that a temple on North Masjid Street in Hasthinapuram, near Chrompet also has a navapashanam idol. It was crafted by Vadapalani Siddhar, using Bogar's teachings.

After the 2015 kumbhabhishekam, however, this temple started gaining prominence among Murugan devotees.

Recently, Ramesh Kumar, who played a key role in this event and was later forced to shift to a different Murugan temple in Sriperumbudur, filed a complaint on Friday with Chengalpet district collector S Arunraj, reporting that miscreants had scrapped the idol in Chromepet.

Ramesh suspected this was done because the minerals and herbs in the navapashanam idol are traditionally believed to have healing properties. Since this was a sensitive issue, police accompanied revenue authorities for Sunday's inspection, and they noticed damages in several portions. This team is expected to submit the final report on Monday night.

In 2018, Tamil Nadu idol wing CID uncovered a conspiracy to smuggle abroad Palani's original navapashanam idol. A 200-kg panchaloha idol was crafted in 2003-04 to replace the damaged original, but it lacked specific metals, including gold, signalling misappropriation. Renowned sculptor Muthiah Sthapathi and Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department officials were arrested for their involvement in the swap attempt.