No, This Nandi Idol Was Not Found Buried Under A Mosque

A photo of an idol of a Hindu deity Nandi found buried under the ground near a temple compound in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu is being shared with the false claim that it was discovered while digging under a mosque.

The photo is being shared with the caption when translated reads, "This is the truth buried under every mosque."

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(In Hindi - हर मजार या मस्जिद कि यही सच्चाई है।)

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FACT-CHECK

BOOM found that the Nandi idol was discovered while digging was underway at a temple in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, and not under a mosque as being claimed.

A Google reverse image search on the viral photo showed search results that indicated that the photo is from Sellandiamman Temple during an excavation in Ariyu village, Namakkal, Tamil Nadu.

The same photo was earlier tweeted by the Twitter handle Lost Temples, with the caption, "Namakkal District Mohanur Ariyur Arulmigu Cellandiamman Temple yesterday while extending the compound wall they digged the ground they found a big Nandhi murti"

Taking a hint from the location mentioned - Namakkal District, we searched with keywords and found news reports on the incident.

According to a report by Puthiyathalaimurai, the photo is from Sellandiamman Temple which is being reconstructed and the Nandi idol was discovered when authorities dug a trench in front of the temple to build a perimeter wall. We can spot the same viral photo in the report and this video report by Puthiyathalaimurai TV dated September 5, 2021.

The report further states that the temple authorities handed over the idol to Revenue officials and archaeologists are examining it.

We also found a news report on the incident by Dinamalar, a Tamil website, with the same photo.

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