GUWAHATI, Jan 23 - The belief that the greater Panbazar-Uzanbazar area of the city had once formed the core area of an old river bank civilisation has been confirmed once again with the discovery of a Sun god sculpture on the Cotton University campus yesterday.
The image of Surya was found while a digging operation was going on for construction of the University�s administrative building behind its Indoor Stadium.
It needs mention here that about two decades back, an archaeological site was unearthed when digging work was going on for construction of the University�s Indoor Stadium. The then Deputy Director of Archaeology Dr NP Choudhury conducted then archaeological excavation at the site and closed it after reaching natural soil there and handed over the site to then Cotton College authorities for construction of the Indoor Stadium.
Executive engineer of Cotton University Rajib Sarma told this correspondent here today that the sculpture measures around one metre in height. Head of the Cotton University Archaeology Department Dr Manjil Hazarika told this correspondent that the sculpture was found in an intact form.
The Surya sculpture found on the Cotton University campus has a headgear, two lotuses in full bloom in its hands and it is also wearing a pair of shoes. The Surya consorts � Sandhya and Chaya � along with Pingala and Danda, along with other minor deities, are also part of this sculpture.
The sculpture is riding a chariot pulled by seven horses and Aruna, the Surya charioteer, is holding the reins, said Dr Hazarika.
It is an excellent piece of art that could be dated back to around AD 11th to 12th century. In Assam, a number of Surya images have been found in the Brahmaputra Valley, and in this respect the name of Surya Pahar in Goalpara district comes first of all. The other sites where a plenty of Surya images have been found include Ambari in Guwahati.
As a planetary god, Surya is depicted in Hindu temple walls, door frames and also as an individual image.