This Jain pilgrimage centre on the foothills of Western Ghats, on the banks of Phalguni river, wore festive look on Saturday as the fifth Mahamastakabhisheka of the century began.
This Jain pilgrimage centre on the foothills of Western Ghats, on the banks of Phalguni river, wore festive look on Saturday as the fifth Mahamastakabhisheka of the century began.
Venoor had celebrated the first Mahamastakabhisheka of the millennium in the year 2000, followed by Karkala in Udupi district in 2002 and Shravanabelagola in Hassan district in 2006 and Dharmasthala (Dakshina Kannada district) in 2007.
The 35-feet-long monolithic statue of Tyagamurthy-Bahubali, sculptured in 1604, was the centre of attraction of the festivities. It stood resolute, reminiscent of the way Tyagamurthy-Bahubali stood in flesh and blood in penance after defeating his brother in a bout for succession of his father’s kingdom. Bahubali stood in penance for 12 years before he attained nirvana.
Ever since, his followers, known as Jains of Jinas, offer Mastakabhisheka once in 12 years. The first monolithic statue was erected in Shravanabelagola in 981 AD, followed by Karkala in 1432, Mysore in 12 century AD, Venoor in 1604 and Dharmasthala in 1973.
Inaugurating the 2012 Mahamastakabhisheka celebrations, chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Saturday highlighted the relevance of the teachings of Bahubali and taking lessons from his life, which was full of sacrifice.
He said everyone should draw inspiration from the life of Bahubali. He said owing to the ‘modern’ thinking, the values of sacrifice and altruism were becoming increasingly rare.
“To rekindle the spirit of sacrifice, brotherhood and altruism among the present generation, Bahubali’s life should be seen, heard and felt by the common people,” he said.
The chief minister said he too is a follower of Bahubali, in the sense that during the last six months of his tenure as the chief minister, he followed the culture of non-violence of body and mind, which was adequately reflected in his public life.
“In democracy, we should honour the wishes of the people and never waver from our quest for reaching goals, of total welfare of the people”.
The Venoor township is teeming with devotees from all over the country, mainly from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. In the next nine days, they will take part in the Mastakabhisheka by pouring various substances made out of sandalwood, turmeric, sugarcane juice, honey, rice powder, choorna made out of herbs and tender coconut.
Altogether 1,008 kalashas will be emptied on the forehead of the Bahubali statue.
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