Note 98 — INDEX (continued 2)
Reading edition
It is also interesting, if there is a foundation of fact to the tale, that this is the temple visited by the Persian poet Saádi (a.d. 1200–1230) when he saw the ivory idol of Somanátha whose arms were raised by a hidden priest pulling a cord. According to Saádi on pretence of conversion he was admitted behind the shrine, discovered the cord-puller, threw him into a well, and fled. Compare Journal Royal Asiatic Society Bengal VII.–2 pages 885–886. That Saádi ever visited Somanátha is doubtful. No ivory human image can ever have been the chief object of worship at Somanátha. ↑