Sripurandan (North) is a village in the Udayarpalayam taluk of Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu, India.

Sripurandan (North)
village
Country India
StateTamil Nadu
DistrictAriyalur
Population
 (2001)
 • Total3,029
Languages
 • OfficialTamil
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Sex ratio989 /
Literacy56.51%

Demographics

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As per the 2001 census, Sripurandan (North) had a total population of 3029 with 1523 males and 1506 females.[1]

Temple

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The village has a dilapidated Brihadeeswarar temple from 9th-century Chola period.

In 2008, theft of 8 idols from the temple was discovered by Government of India officials.[2] One of these idols, the Sripuranthan Natarajan Idol found its way to the National Gallery of Australia. Some of the stolen statues were consequently returned and are now displayed in the Government Museum at Kumbakonam.[3][4][5][6]


S.No. Deity As named in Idol Wing report Stolen Idol traced to Country Current status Remarks
1 Nataraja Natarajar[7] National Gallery of Australia Australia Recovered [8]
See: Sripuranthan Natarajan Idol
2 Uma Parameshwari Sivagami Amman[7] Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore Recovered [9][10]
3 Ganesha Vinayagar[7] Toledo Museum of Art United States Recovered [11][12]
4 Devi Amman[7] Recovered [12]
5 Thani Amman[7] ICE United States Unknown [13]
Incorrect labeling by IW
6 Shiva Chandrashekar[7] James H. Clark[14][15][16] United States Unknown (Seized by US authorities) [16]
7 Manikkavacakar Sampanthar[7] Private collector United States Unknown (Seized by US authorities) [17][18][12]
Incorrect labeling by IW
8 Sambandar Narthana Krishnar[7] Unknown Incorrect labeling by IW

References

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  1. ^ Primary Census Abstract, Directorate of Census Operations-Tamil Nadu Archived 29 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Datta, Damayanti (21 April 2014). "Mystery of the missing Gods: 1,000-year-old guardian of the Brihadeeswara temple, Shiva Nataraja goes missing from his abode". India Today. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  3. ^ Boland, Michaela; Hodge, Amanda (8 March 2014). "Town prays for its stolen god Shiva to return". The Australian. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  4. ^ Hodge, Amanda (10 November 2014). "Tamil Nadu village turns out to welcome home Dancing Shiva". The Australian. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  5. ^ Bennett, James (8 August 2016). "Dancing Shiva: Indian villagers still waiting for the return of their stolen statue". ABC News. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  6. ^ Hebbar, Nistula (8 June 2018). "Idol trackers elated as Ganesha set to come home". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h "Photocopies of Antique Metal Idols Stolen from Sivan Temple at Sripuranthan Village at Ariyalur District in Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Tamil Nadu Police: Economic Offences Wing. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Acquisitions from Art of the Past, New York" (PDF). National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Asian Civilisations Museum returns an 11th-century bronze sculpture to India" (PDF) (Press release). Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Asian Civilisations Museum returns an 11th-century bronze sculpture to India" (Press release). Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum. 6 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Toledo Museum of Art to Return Four Works of Art with Falsified or Inadequate Provenance Documentation to Republic of India". Toledo Museum of Art. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  12. ^ a b c Kabirdoss, Yogesh (12 July 2016). "TN gets back two 1,000-year-old idols smuggled to US". Times of India. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Kapoor Files- Art of the Loot Part 6- Seized bronzes with ICE?". Poetry In Stone. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  14. ^ Mashberg, Tom (12 January 2022). "Netscape Founder Gives Up $35 Million in Art Said to Be Stolen". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. ^ Cascone, Sarah (13 January 2022). "The Founder of Netscape Has Returned $35 Million Worth of Looted Cambodian Antiquities". Artnet News. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. ^ a b Menon, Jaya (13 January 2022). "Tamil Nadu to get back three more of its idols soon". Times of India. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  17. ^ Lakshman, Narayan (2 July 2015). "US recovers stolen TN idol worth $1 million". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  18. ^ "ICE HSI partners with major art collector to recover stolen idol from India" (Press release). New York: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2023.