An 800-year-old idol of Lord Ganpati has been found in the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh. Farmer Venkateswarlu found this idol in the Motupalli village of Chinaganjam Mandal when he was working in his field. Regarding the discovery of the god Ganpati idol, archaeologist Siva Nagi Reddy states that the 800-year-old statue is three feet [3 cm] long, two feet six inches wide, and one foot six inches high. Not only this, this statue of Ganpati, found in Padmasana standing on a lotus chair, has a modak on one hand and teeth on the other, but both hands are damaged. Also, the image is worn with ornaments including Nag Yagyopaveet.
Based on the Tamil inscriptions found in the Kodanda Ramaswamy temple, it is estimated that this 12th-century idol dates back to the time when the Chola kings ruled here. Presently this ancient idol is kept in the Kodanada Ramaswamy temple. During the Ganesh festival, people are gathering crowds due to this idol found in the Motupalli village of Chinaganjam Mandal. People are coming here to worship.
On the information of Motupalli Heritage Society secretary R. Dashratharam Reddy, Dr. E Shivanagi Reddy of the Plech India Foundation visited the place where the idol was found and collected information about the statue. However, he said the statue was made of granite stone. Dr. Shivanagi Reddy has appealed to the Motupalli Heritage Society to move the Ganesha statue to the Kodanda Ramaswamy Temple and preserve it for future generations. During this R. Dashrathram Reddy, Prithviraj, and M. Balaji Kumar of Motupalli Heritage Society, priests and villagers of the Seshatalpa temple were present.
