Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

‘Abhishekam’ performed to deserted idol

- Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

In reverence: Abhishekam being performed to the deserted idol of Lord Ranganatha at Tirupati on Tuesday.

TIRUPATI: On the second day of his trek through the Tirupati city visiting its various temples and places of importance, Kamalkumar Swamiji, general secretary of the Hindu Devalayala Parirakshana Samithi on Tuesday performed ‘abhishekam’ to the mammoth idol of Lord Ranganatha lying deserted for years at the Narasimha Theertham here.

The massive granite icon depicting the Lord in lying posture has been remaining under a banyan tree from time immemorial on the banks of the holy tank.

In fact, the Sangh Parivar leaders have performed a similar ritual to the idol sometime ago, taking exception to the TTD for frittering away crores of rupees all over the country in the name of protecting Hinduism even as the beautifully chiselled granite idol of Lord Ranganatha is left unattended right in Tirupati.

But the TTD and the temple sources point out that since the idol is slightly damaged, it is not fit for worship as per the prescriptions in the Agama Sasthra. But spiritual-minded people and the Sangh Parivar sources argue that the TTD could at least put up a canopy or a mantapam over the deserted idol instead of leaving it to the vagaries of weather and vandals.

Among those who participated in the abhishekam along with Kamalkumar swamiji was the State president of the BJYM G. Bhanuprakash Reddy and the city unit president of BJP, Samanchi Srinivas.

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