The Mangalagiri tableau which adorns the idol of saint Ramanuja has been missing from the historic Emar Mutt in Puri.
The shocking revelation was made after the tableau could not be traced out on the occasion of Ramanuja Jayanti on Thursday when the idol of Ramanuja with the tableau over it was taken out on a procession (Parikrama) around Srimandir to mark the occasion.
While there are claims that the tableau was made of gold, some deny the theory claiming it to be made of brass.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Parikrama of Ramanujacharya was last held on his birth anniversary in 2012 and after that, neither the rare astadhatu-made idol nor his valuable Mangalagiri tableau ever left the Mutt where he is worshipped.
It is still not clear whether the tableau has been taken by the endowment department or by the Mutt trust board, but devotees are getting concerned about its whereabouts, with some even suspecting theft of the tableaux which is said to be worth several crores of rupees.
However, as per the chief of Emar Mutt Trust, Narayan Ramanuja Das Maharaj, the tableau was never handed over to the trust and that was not made of gold but it was brass.
The recovery of 522 silver ingots weighing over a total of 18 tonnes and valued at a whopping Rs 90 crore from the ancient mutt on February 25, 2011 had rocked the entire nation. The case is sub-judice in court.
Similarly, 45 silver ingots weighing about 35 kg each were recovered from the mutt in the second phase of searches on April 10, 2021.
Moreover, some precious items like a beautiful silver tree, flower, bouquet, silver utensils and ornaments were found inside the mutt after its possession was taken by the Commissioner of Endowment in April 2021.