Splinters of bones found during the construction work at the complex of the five-centuries old Veda Narayanaswami Temple at Nagalapuram, 20 km from Puttur, on Tuesday created commotion in the town. The bones, some with a length of 20 cm and sizeable girth, left the officials and priests confused. The workers found the bones at a depth of seven feet. Assuming them to be those of a dog, they continued digging only to find more bones in varied sizes with a thick coat of mud. Going by the temple records and a close look at the proposed chariot mandapam zone, no digging took place there during the last two centuries and beyond. Some priests observed that the bones might have belonged to some domesticated animals, probably dogs meant for temple security or cows in the service of the temple.
One version was that the remains could be those of the traditional family which might have looked after the temple. The temple was built by Vijayanagara Emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya in early 16th century and Nagalapuram (previously Nagalambapuram) was named after his mother Nagalamba. The bones were disposed of at a faraway corner in the town and the digging resumed. When contacted, Assistant Director (Department of Archaeology, Chittoor district) D. Pattabhi Reddy said he would send a team of officials to probe the matter. “Though the temple’s history dates back to five centuries, it is not a protected monument. As the TTD is its guardian, they undertake digging work according to their convenience,” he said.
Meanwhile, TTD Public Relations Officer T. Ravi Kumar told The Hindu that the temple officials had not given any information to the higher authorities in this regard.
