Video showing ‘Hindi stones’ in Thanjavur Big Temple is fake, says official

A video viral in social media claims Tamil scriptures in the Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple are being replaced by Hindi scriptures.

The iconic Sri Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Officials of the Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple (Big Temple) in Thanjavur have dismissed as fake news a video clip in which a person alleges that some ancient Tamil inscriptions were being replaced with ones in Hindi. The video had gone viral on social media over the past few days.

Dismissing the video as nothing but misinformation, officials maintaining the World Heritage Monument said that the inscription shown in the video was actually one which is written in Nagari-style Marathi script. These stone inscriptions were installed in the Big Temple complex during the Maratha period, when the Ganesha shrine was constructed and consecrated in the complex.

While the Lord Ganesha shrine came up during Maratha period, the shrine for Goddess Brahannayagi was constructed by the Pandyas and the Subrahmanya shrine was added by the Nayaka rulers.

The Marathi inscriptions are stone inscriptions recovered while renovating the “girivalapathai” corridor of the monument, they said.