DINAJPUR, BANGLADESH—The Dhaka Tribune reports that a figurine of Mohini, the only female avatar of the god Vishnu, has been found in a temple estimated to date to the eleventh or twelfth century. This is the thought to be the first time that a stone idol of Mohini, whose image is well known in south and west India, has been found in the eastern subcontinent. The style of the temple itself is also highly unusual for the region. The Madhabgaon Vishnu temple “is the first Navarath temple in Bangladesh,” explained archaeologist Shadhin Sen. The team of archaeologists and students from Jahangirnagar University also found a shankha, or conch shell, which had been placed in the hand of a Vishnu statue; a sudarshana chakra, or a weapon with more than 100 serrated edges used by Vishnu; a mace; and part of the foot of a Vishnu statue. Local people have asked that this temple be opened to the public after the excavation is completed. For more, go to "Letter from Bangladesh: A Family's Passion."
