Laurie Sue Brockway

This compelling Divine Repatriation Story about the theft of an 800-year-old Lakshmi-Narayan sacred statue from a temple shrine in Nepal has all the makings of a mystery novel. Except it is true. Lakshmi-Narayan refers to Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Vishnu, a divine couple in the Hindu tradition. They are beloved deities known as an eternal couple. Lakshmi presides over spiritual and material wealth.
Vishnu is known as the Great Preserver. They are worshipped around the world. For centuries, they held a place of honor in a small temple in Patan, Nepal. They blessed the community in the form of a religious statue known as a stele. Suddenly, the statue disappeared. The community of devotees was devastated. And Nepal lost yet another cherished part of their heritage. This holy icon was on an almost fifty-year journey away from its religious community and culture of origin after a shadowy removal of the statue in the dead of night in 1984.
It ultimately ended up at the Dallas Museum. However, it was brought home through a dramatic rescue and was returned to its original sacred place and spiritual community in a much-publicized repatriation from this United States museum. The efforts to find, identify, and get the statue back were assisted by doggedly determined heritage activists who are trying to restore sacred statues to their country.
These efforts to reverse the work of thieves also involved governments, the FBI, journalists, historians and art experts, spiritual leaders, and members of the community. This small book offers insight into how historians can honor the spiritual heritage of artifacts. And it tells of the history and provenance of this unique statue. It was finally restored to the people of Nepal with great celebration in 2021.