Fact Check: No, a Giant Shaligram Stone Was Not Found After Nepal Floods

A black stone with a perfect spiral did not emerge from Nepal’s August 26 flash flood as an ancient shaligram fossil. The object circulating in Facebook and Instagram posts is a man-made statue.

Tempo used reverse image searches, geolocation and confirmation from credible sources to check the claim. Identical images appeared in Nepalese media on June 30, before the flood. The reports identified the object as a statue made by a sculptor from the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts and displayed along the Kali Gandaki River in Jomsom.

Other Nepalese outlets, including Himalaya Times and Desh Sanchar, also reported the installation. Tempo found a video of another shaligram statue on the Instagram account @nepal.360, uploaded on August 11. The post said shaligrams are revered by Hindus and that the statue had become a religious tourist attraction for local residents.

The location also contradicts the viral claim. Citing the US Geological Survey, Tempo reported that a glacial collapse in Langtang National Park triggered a massive flood on August 26, sending water toward downstream settlements along the Lende Khola and Trishuli Khola rivers. The statue stands on the Kali Gandaki River in Jomsom, about 400 kilometers from the center of the disaster and the areas affected by the flash flood.

Tempo concluded that the alleged discovery was false information. The shaligram shown in the posts is a statue, not an ancient fossil recovered from the flood.

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The black stone with a perfect spiral emerged in Nepal after the flood. It is 140 million years old. Its name is Shaligram.