Install a new shivling
at the Omkareshwar
Friday, June 30, 2006 (Khandwa)
The Temple is one of the
12 Jyotirlings in the world and shivling in these temples are believed
to be nature-made.
The controversy is that the
patchwork was done secretly without the knowledge of the Collector, who
is the chairman of the Trust. Therefore, the story assumes significance
in the light of the Amarnath temple controversy.
Offerings on Omkareshwar
jyotirlinga banned
Bhopal - Offerings of milk, curd, water and other traditional materials on the sacred jyotirlinga at the famous Omkareshwar temple has been with banned to save the phallus-shaped symbol of Hindu lord Shiva from further erosion, officials said Sunday. The Khandwa district administration took the decision Saturday on the advice of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), the officials said. ‘The damage is being caused due to the offerings made on the Shivlinga which is made of sandstone - comparatively soft material,’ said ASI deputy superintendent Ashok Kumar Pandey who had inspected the damaged lingam. The jyotirlinga at Omkareshwar, 350 km from here, is one of the 12 major lingams in India and Nepal. ‘A crack had been found in the one-foot high shivlinga a few days ago and was repaired using a locally made paste but it did not prove effective,’ said Swami Tejanand, chief priest of the Omkareshwar Temple Trust that looks after the temple. ‘The jyotirlinga has suffered damage because a large number of devotees touch it every day during rituals,’ he said. ‘The trust is seriously considering the installation of a new jyotirlinga after submerging the existing Shivlinga in the holy Narmada river some time after August. Swami Jayendra Saraswati of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham is being consulted on the issue,’ the priest said. However, Khandwa district collector Nikunj Kumar Shrivastava said the administration was consulting the ASI to preserve the lingam and there were no plans to install a new one. Meanwhile, the temple trust
is planning to place a transparent cover over the present shivling till
a new one is installed
Man made Shiva lingam
betrays faith at Amarnath caves
In its place was a crude man-made ice stupa that was being passed off as the holy lingam. The shocking discovery has caused widespread outrage with pilgrims accusing the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board of trifling with their faith. Said Ram Mahajan, president of Dharam Prachar Mandal, which organises groups of pilgrims: "We are deeply hurt to see the man-made lingam instead of the natural one regarded by the faithful as divine." Mahajan said the organisers Shri Amarnath Shrine Board should not have misled devotees about the lingam. "I understand that due to climatic changes Baba Bhole Shankar didn't give darshan this year. But not telling the truth and constructing a lingam in its stead is a big mistake," he said. Jagdish Kamlesh, general secretary of Amarnath Sewa Mandal, alleged the shrine board had "humiliated Hindus and fooled them" by making a replica. "If there was no natural lingam this year, the Board should have let it be," he said, and sought the government's help to check commercialisation of the shrine. Board CEO Arun Kumar denied any role of shrine authorities. Kumar said: "Due to warm weather, the lingam had not formed this year. Then we got reports some langarwallas had entered the holy cave and tried to manufacture it. The board raised a 5-feet grille around the lingam and is locking it." Old photos, however, show
the grille already in place (see pic), indicating the Board was thinking
on its feet to evade responsibility for the faith trickery.
|
|
Rajesh Chopra's comments Please |
|
|
|
|
LiveIndia.Com Copyright
© 1998-2001 Live India Internet Services! All rights reserved
|