Ashta Bandhanam at Srisailam shelved

Srisailam: The proposed Ashta Bandhanam to bridge the gap between Sivalingam and Panamattam at the Mallikarjuna Swamy temple has been shelved following difference of opinion among various sections.

There has been a difference of opinion between the temple priests and the temple officials over the implementation of Ashta Bandhanam and Kumbhabhishekam and this led to the temporary shelving of the programme.

It has earlier been stated that the Sivalingam is getting eroded as hundreds of thousands of devotees are touching the Sivalingam with their heads. With due consultation of five Pithadhipatis, it has been proposed to arrange a golden armour to the Sivalingam to prevent its erosion. However, the Veerasaiva Jangam associations expressed their unwillingness to the programme and above all there was no consensus among Pithadhipatis over the issue. Finally, the golden armour programme was also shelved. Later, the officials put forward the proposal of Ashra Bandhanam to bridge the gap between the Sivalingam and Panamattam with some roots and other material. Dr Chenna Siddharama Panditaradhya Sivacharya has fixed muhurat for Ashta Bandhanam and Kumbhabhishekam from June 9 to 11. However, some of the temple priests expressed their resentment stating that these programmes are against the Agama Sastra while some others support the temple officials. The Devastanam Board, headed by Alturi Adinarayana Reddy, has taken the decision to shelve the programme for the time being.