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Udupi, Feb 8: A rare sixth century granite idol of ‘Lajja Gauri’ has been discovered fixed on the road in Barkur village of Udupi district, according to information furnished by Dr. Shivakant Bajpai, Superintending Archaeologist of ASI Bangalore Circle. Lajja Gauri is depicted in nude form and is said to be a fertility symbol. The idol is rare, though very popular among certain cults.

Dr Shivakant Bajpai, who is on a tour of the coastal districts, said that he first came across the image when it went viral on social media. He subsequently traced it to a public road in Barkur, which is an ancient historical town of coastal Karnataka. It was the ancient capital of the Alupa kingdom and a seat of power for several centuries.

“This is a very important idol and hundreds of vehicles pass over it every day. We are rescuing it and I have issued an order to my local in-charge to keep it in safe custody. I have also sent a mail in this regard to the DC and SP of the district,” he said.

The idol is likely to be of 6th or 7th century, though further study is required to confirm a date, Dr. Bajpai said.

Lajja Gauri is a lotus-headed Hindu deity associated with abundance, fertility and sexuality, sometimes euphemistically described as Lajja ("modesty").

Bengaluru, Apr 18: The Karnataka government has managed to get the contact details of nine out of 10 foreign nationals who had visited Jubilant Life Sciences, a pharmaceutical company in Mysuru district's Nanjangud which has been declared a coronavirus hotspot, State minister S Suresh Kumar said on Saturday.

As many as 66 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nanjangud.

While investigating the source of virus in what is now known as 'Nanjangud cluster', the Mysuru administration could get information that 10 foreign nationals had visited this town, Kumar told reporters.

Soon the External Affairs Ministry's help was sought which managed to track nine of them, Kumar said, adding that the MEA contacted its embassies in China, Germany, Japan and the USA to track these persons.

"Out of 10, they could contact nine and got details. All of them have said that they were all healthy and they did not have any symptoms.

Hence, they did not feel the need to undergo COVID-19 tests," the minister said.

He opined that many people do not show the symptoms but they could be carriers of the virus.

Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths on April 18

"It all depends on the person's immunity," Kumar explained.

A foreign national from Germany who had visited Nanjangud could not be reached as her contact details were not available.