Chennai sources have stated that though Kancheepuram was once a flourishing Buddhist centre, there is not a single Buddhist temple in the town today. But this could soon change as a 9th century Buddha statue found in a school playground in Kancheepuram is all set to be installed in a mandapam of the Subramania Swamy temple by the Buddhist Association of Tamil Nadu.
R. Nagaswamy, former director of Archaeology Department has told that he has visited Kancheepuram to see the statue and the 200 year old mandapam, which has not been in use for many years and a senior official from the Thai Consular Office has also accompanied him.
Nagaswamy also added that the five and a half feet Buddha, which was discovered nearly 40 years ago, is in a seated position and a seven foot statue of Buddha in standing position, belonging to the 2nd century and discovered a 100 years ago, is now housed in the Chennai Museum.
Nagaswamy has also told that Buddhism is the most important religion as far as Kancheepuram of yore is concerned. Bodhidharma, the Buddhist monk, who has visited China and Japan and established the Dhyana Marga, was from Kancheepuram and the mandapam in which the statue will be installed was abandoned long ago and there was a proposal to demolish it. He has added that once the temple is set up, Thailand government proposes to develop it into a Buddhist pilgrimage centre.
