Jangaon: Lajja Gauri carving found on boulder at Cherial

Jangaon: An image of ‘Lajja Gauri’ carved on a huge boulder has been discovered at Cherial village located about 34 km away from Jangaon town by archaeology and history enthusiast Reddy Rathnakar Reddy a couple of days ago. Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, Rathnakar Reddy said the image must have been carved/chiselled on the rock during […]

Jangaon: An image of ‘Lajja Gauri’ carved on a huge boulder has been discovered at Cherial village located about 34 km away from Jangaon town by archaeology and history enthusiast Reddy Rathnakar Reddy a couple of days ago.

Speaking to ‘Telangana Today’, Rathnakar Reddy said the image must have been carved/chiselled on the rock during the rule of the Kakatiyas and urged the officials of the Archaeology Department to take steps to protect the boulder which also contained a carving of Bhairava.

“The sculptures of Lajja Gauri have been found in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other States in the past. However, I found this image in Telangana for the first time,” he said, adding that there were different versions about  ‘Lajja Gauri,’ who is said to be Goddess Parvathi, wife of Lord Shiva. “Lajja Gauri sculptures and images show her in the nude. It is said that she is the goddess of abundance and fertility, and her worship is said to be traced to 1st century Indus Valley where she is linked to Shakti cults. By Vedic reference, Lajja Gauri is the Hindu goddess of the sky via her epithet Aditi. It is also said that the attitude of Lajja Gauri is deemed to represent a woman in labour in the stage of expulsion. The image of childbirth is attributed to the fertility cult as a symbol of regeneration,” he added.

Rathnakar Reddy, who is known as ‘Discovery Man’ in Telangana, said the boulder was situated in an agriculture field near the new sub-registrar’s office in Cherial town. The sculptures of Lord Brahma and Lord Vishnu were also found at Cherial in the past, he added.

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