A video is going viral on social media to claim it shows the Nataraja idol that was found in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
It added that the the idol was surrounded by cobras and that the Archaeology department "believed that this Murti was made of Panchaloha and is more than 1000 years old."
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
(Archives of similar claims can be seen here and here.)
What's the truth?: Although an idol was indeed found near Sriperumbudur, this viral video is scripted.
A Nataraja idol was discovered in March 2024 during excavations by the Archaeology Department at the premises of the Siva Kozhundeeswarar temple (Shiva temple) in Sivankoodal village, Tamil Nadu.
How did we find out the truth?: We performed a relevant keyword search and came across Tamil news reports about an idol being discovered near Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
Several channels on YouTube and Facebook carried a video about this in March 2024, namely, Puthiyathalaimurai TV, M Nadu News and Behindwoods Air News.
The reports stated that a Nataraja idol was found during an excavations by the Archaeology Department at the premises of the Siva Kozhundeeswarar temple (Shiva temple) in Sivankoodal village, Tamil Nadu.
They also carried visuals of the idols found and they didn't match the ones seen in the viral video.
The real excavations found were slightly fragmented.
Comparison between the viral video and the visuals from the news reports.
(Source: The Quint)
We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the viral video and found out that this was shared by a YouTube channel, KRB YT VLOG on 28 March 2024.
The channel carries several scripted videos and the viral video showing an idol being found during excavation is also scripted.
The video does not carry any details about the location either.
Other scripted videos on the channel.
(Source: YT/Screenshot)
We have also reached out to the Department of Archaeology under Tamil Nadu government for more details about this excavation and the story would be update once we receive a response.
Conclusion: Although a Nataraja idol was indeed found near Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, this viral video is scripted.
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