The auction of a 11th-12th century bronze idol of a Saivite saint, Kannappa Nayanar, reportedly stolen from Tamil Nadu some 15 years ago, at Maastricht in the Netherlands has been stopped following the efforts of the Idol Wing CID of the state police.

An official release said here that the idol of Kannappa Nayanar was stolen from the Arulmigu Agneeswarar Swamy temple at Thirupugalur in the southern coastal Nagapattinam district by unidentified culprits in 2010. The Thittachery Police have also registered a case in this regard.

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The police received an input that the idol, 63 cm tall, 23 cm wide and weighing 27 kg, was kept for auction at the European Fine Art Exhibition 2025, held in Maastricht. The matter was taken up with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and authorities in the Netherlands to put on hold the auction of the antique statue. Following the timely intervention, the Netherland’s Foreign Affairs Ministry took custody of the idol on March 23 this year. In order to repatriate the idol to India, legal procedures have been initiated, the release added.

According to legend, Kannappa Nayanar, a hunter by profession, was born near present day pilgrimage shrine Sri Kalahasti. He used to feed meat to the Shiv Linga in the forest. But the Brahmin priest was worried about the presence of meat. Shiva told the priest that Kannapar was a devotee and was offering the meat. To test his devotion, one day Shiva had one of his eyes bleeding. On seeing it, Kannapar plucked one of his eye4s and applied it to Shiva. When the other eye of Shiva too started bleeding, without hesitation he prepared to pluck his second eye, while keeping his foot on Shiva to place it correctly. Shiva appeared before him and stopped him, restoring his sight and granting liberation. Kannapar has been inducted into the 63 Saivite saints – Nayanmars.