The Archaeological Survey of India plans to reattach the long-lost sandstone head of an 11th-century Vishnu idol at Khajuraho’s Javari Temple by November, after identifying the fragment inside an ASI store in Khajuraho.
The seven-foot idol is located at the Javari Temple, part of the Khajuraho Group of Monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its torso, four arms and legs remain, along with carved ornaments including a kaustubh jewel, vanamala garland, girdle and anklets. Lakshmi and Garuda flank the principal figure, which is also decorated with miniature manifestations of Vishnu.
The missing head has an elaborate stone crown, known as a kirit mukut, and a serene facial expression. ASI Director General Yadubir Singh Rawat said the fragment was found after he asked officials to search stores and sheds holding damaged sculptures and loose architectural pieces.
“The head is in Khajuraho itself. It has been kept in a safe vault… in the custody of ASI,” Rawat said. According to him, the identification was supported by the matching stone composition, colour and proportions, as well as the distinctive crown. Officials also compared the fragment with photographs of the original idol.
Shivakant Bajpai, head of the ASI’s Bhopal circle, traced the head to an ASI store while he was serving as head of the ASI’s Jabalpur circle. The discovery places the missing component within the same heritage-management system responsible for safeguarding the monument and other detached sculptures.
The circumstances in which the head became detached remain unclear. Rawat said someone may have attempted to break it off for theft but failed. The ASI has not established when the separation occurred or how the fragment came to be stored at the site.
Reattaching the head will require careful conservation work. Rawat said restoration would be delicate because the head is a defining feature of the sculpture and cannot simply be recreated without establishing its form and fit. A committee has been constituted to oversee the restoration, and the ASI is aiming to complete the work by next month.
The idol became the subject of legal and public controversy in September 2025, when Haryana farmer-activist Rakesh Dalal petitioned the Supreme Court seeking its reconstruction and reinstallation. The court dismissed the plea. The restoration now being planned is an ASI-led conservation exercise based on the identification of the original stone fragment, rather than a recreation of a lost feature.
