कल्पान्तरे विश्वासटिप्पन्यः

Iconoclasm

The Hindus believed that the Gods and Goddesses leave for their abode before the hatchet or the hammer of the vile “mlecchas” or “asuras” so much as even touched the idols. The idea has been well described in Kanhadade Prabandha (written in 1456 A.D.) when giving an account of the destruction of the somanAtha Temple by Sultan Alauddin’s troops in 1299.