Veerasolapuram

Veerasolapuram

Veeracholapuram
Veerasolapuram Veeracholapuram
village
	National Highway-79
	Veerasolapuram Veerasolapuram
	Coordinates: 11°44′51″N 79°01′46″E / 11.747483°N 79.029357°E
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Kallakurichi
Taluka	Kallakkurichi
Population (2011)
• Total	1,929
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	606 206
Telephone code	04151
Vehicle registration	TN-15

Veerasolapuram (also Veeracholapuram or Viracholapuram) is an ancient village located near Kallakurichi in Kallakurichi district, Tamil Nadu, India.^[1]

Climate

The temperature is moderate; the maximum and minimum temperatures being 38 °C and 21 °C respectively. The town gets its rainfall from the northeast monsoon in winter and the southwest monsoon in summer. The average annual rainfall is 1070 mm.

Agriculture

Veeracholapuram is an agricultural village. Major crops cultivated are sugarcane and rice. The river Manimuktha runs through the village providing enough water throughout the year for irrigation.

Historical Temples

Veeracholapuram is famous for its Shiva Temple and is known as Nareeswarar Sivan Temple (also Narishwara, Nagareshwara, or Ardhanareshwara Temple).^[2]

Idol Theft

The idols of Shiva, Parvati and other deities were stolen sometime in 1960s and were traced by the Idol Wing of the Tamil Nadu Criminal Investigation Department (IW-CID) with the help of volunteer-collective India Pride Project to various museums/institutions in the United States.^[3]^[4]^[5]

S.No.	Deity	Stolen Idol traced to	Country	Current status	More Details
1	Tripurantaka	Cleveland Museum of Art	United States	Unknown	^[4]^[5]^[6]
2	Tripura Sundari	Cleveland Museum of Art	United States	Unknown	^[4]^[5]^[6]
3	Nataraja	Private collector	United States	Unknown	^[4]^[5]^[7] Auctioned by Christie's in 2003
4	Sundarar	Freer Gallery of Art	United States	Unknown	^[4]^[5]^[8]
5	Paravai Nachiyar	Freer Gallery of Art	United States	Unknown	^[4]^[5]^[8]
6	Veenadhara Dakshinamurthy	Private collector	United States	Unknown	^[4]^[5]^[9] Auctioned by Christie's in 2013
7	Nandikeshwarar		United States	Unknown	^[4]^[5]

References

^ 2011 Census Village code for Veeracholapuram = 634599, "Reports of National Panchayat Directory: List of Census Villages mapped for: Veerasolapuram Gram Panchayat, Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.
^ Menon, Jaya; Kabirdoss, Yogesh (11 September 2019). "Idols worth Rs 500 crore stuck abroad, govt agencies lack will". Times of India. Retrieved 11 September 2023. ... Among the idols he is trying to retrieve are one of Saint Sundarar with wife Paravai, stolen from the Veeracholapuram Shiva temple in Villupuram district and showcased at Freer Gallery of Art in the US ...
^ Menon, Jaya (20 May 2018). "Idols stolen from tn temples traced to museums in US". Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h R., Sivaraman (24 August 2022). "Idol Wing submits papers to retrieve six stolen Chola-era idols from U.S." The Hindu. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h R., Sivaraman (24 June 2023). "Idol Wing steps up efforts to retrieve 16 antique idols from the United States". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Shiva and Parvati". Cleveland Museum of Art. 950–960. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^ "A Large Bronze Figure of Shiva Nataraja". Christie's. 1000–1100. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Saint Sundarar with wife Paravai". Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. c. 1600. Retrieved 7 August 2023. ... In the summer of 2018, the museum discovered that the Saint Sundarar with wife Paravai bronze was from the Shiva temple (also known as Narishwara, Nagareshwara, or Ardhanareshwara) built in the 16th century, Vijaynagara period. The temple is situated in Veerasolapuram village, in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. In 1956, the sculpture was photographed at this temple; the original photograph is at the photo archive jointly run by the École Française d'Extrême Orient (EFEO) and the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP). While it is not known with certainty when the bronze left the Tamil Nadu temple and arrived in the United States, another sculpture from the same temple was sold by William H. Wolff, Inc. in 1961. Since the Sackler sculpture was previously in possession of Wolff, who then sold it to Arthur M. Sackler, it is possible that the Sackler bronze also left India by 1961. ...
^ "A bronze figure of Shiva Vinadhara Dakshinamurti". Christie's. 975–1025. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

[1] 2011 Census Village code for Veeracholapuram = 634599, "Reports of National Panchayat Directory: List of Census Villages mapped for: Veerasolapuram Gram Panchayat, Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu". Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India.

[TOI-2] Menon, Jaya; Kabirdoss, Yogesh (11 September 2019). "Idols worth Rs 500 crore stuck abroad, govt agencies lack will". Times of India. Retrieved 11 September 2023. ... Among the idols he is trying to retrieve are one of Saint Sundarar with wife Paravai, stolen from the Veeracholapuram Shiva temple in Villupuram district and showcased at Freer Gallery of Art in the US ...

[TOI2-3] Menon, Jaya (20 May 2018). "Idols stolen from tn temples traced to museums in US". Times of India. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

[TH-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h R., Sivaraman (24 August 2022). "Idol Wing submits papers to retrieve six stolen Chola-era idols from U.S." The Hindu. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

[TH2-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h R., Sivaraman (24 June 2023). "Idol Wing steps up efforts to retrieve 16 antique idols from the United States". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 August 2023.

[CMA1-6] "Shiva and Parvati". Cleveland Museum of Art. 950–960. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

[7] "A Large Bronze Figure of Shiva Nataraja". Christie's. 1000–1100. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

[FS1-8] "Saint Sundarar with wife Paravai". Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. c. 1600. Retrieved 7 August 2023. ... In the summer of 2018, the museum discovered that the Saint Sundarar with wife Paravai bronze was from the Shiva temple (also known as Narishwara, Nagareshwara, or Ardhanareshwara) built in the 16th century, Vijaynagara period. The temple is situated in Veerasolapuram village, in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. In 1956, the sculpture was photographed at this temple; the original photograph is at the photo archive jointly run by the École Française d'Extrême Orient (EFEO) and the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP). While it is not known with certainty when the bronze left the Tamil Nadu temple and arrived in the United States, another sculpture from the same temple was sold by William H. Wolff, Inc. in 1961. Since the Sackler sculpture was previously in possession of Wolff, who then sold it to Arthur M. Sackler, it is possible that the Sackler bronze also left India by 1961. ...

[9] "A bronze figure of Shiva Vinadhara Dakshinamurti". Christie's. 975–1025. Retrieved 7 August 2023.

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