I think Odisha State Museum is allegedly holding onto a lost or stolen antique/ idol from Tamil Nadu.
Today, while I was going through the Indian History subreddit, I have come across this post:
While going through the pics of this post, I have across a pic, i.e, the third one- which says that the idol is of Manasa Devi ( a serpent goddess like Nagamma, popular in East India) from 10th century, found in Cuttack. Taking a closer look at the image, it made it clear that the image was of Mariamman in her four armed form (Karumariamman) and not Manasa Devi.
The reddit post on Indian histroy subreddit - OkMaximum132
I checked and re-checked thorugh several idols of Manasa Devi belonging to 10th and other centuries from Pala era and other eastern Indian kingdoms, neither the iconography is matching nor the style is. Everything about this idol of Amman in Odisha State Museum is quintessentially very Tamil, it very much looks like a idol from any old village Amman or Kaaval Deivam temples in rural Tamil Nadu.
The idol is under the hood of a serpent, is holding a nagabandha- damarukam , pasham, khadgam/katthi and bowl, just like Mariamman. Also, the fire halo around Amman's head is the major giveaway, this feature is simply not part of Odia or any eastern school of sculpture, is solely Tamil ,not even found in Devi iconography of 10th century - Andhra ( if someone claims it as Andhra influence on Odia sculpture). Look at the jewellery, weapons and garments the deity is adorned with, they are very similarly to any Amman Silai from pretty old temples.
Also, I found out that in ancient and medieval India, Manasa Devi was not four-armed, but two handed, all her earlier representations ,from the earliest of all - 6th century until 18th century, she was two handed, holding her child- Astika and is accompained and adorned by snakes. The four armed depiction was popularised by Bengali - Kalighat painting artists and Raja Ravi Varma. Other than the hooded snake, nothing of Manasa Devis's iconography matches with this idol at the museum.
This is very serious . This idol at the Odisha State Museum is simply not Manasa devi from 10th century, but is Amman from a old Kaaval Deivam/ Mariamman temple in Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, I found 3-4 pics of the same idol from the museum being appropriated as Manasa, out of which, one of them is an old black and white pic. I am attaching pics of an old Thanjavur Nayakar/ Maratha era Mariamman painting and an idol of Manasa devi from 10th century, Pala Empire. I will also try to attach other images of both Mariamman and Manasa Devi that support this.
So, was our Mariamman stolen? Or was she wrongly shipped to Odisha? And if true, why is the ASI so ignorant?
Thanjavur Nayakar/ Maratha era Mariamman Painting - Source: Alamy ( please compare the iconography)
Sri Karumariamman - Source: Karumariamman Wikipedia
A modern, Panchaloha vigraham of Mariamman from Exotic India
Four-armed Manasa Devi - Raja Ravi Varma (Please note the iconography)
A 10th century Manasa Devi idol , Pala Empire- Source: Wikimedia (please note the iconography)
Manasa Devi idol at the British Museum, from Early Pala dynasty
Also, I am not a language, religious fanatic. This is just an attempt to point out an alleged stolen, lost and treasured antique .
Posted Jul 8, 2026, 12:09 PM UTC