Srikalahasti priests' VIP treatment irks devotees

During the auspicious Lingodbhavam period, devotees who were waiting to offer prayers at the Srikalahasti temple were supposedly misguided by the priests. As devotees believe that during the Lingodbhavam period (emergence of Linga), a darshan of Lord Shiva is considered to be most auspicious. Hence, devotees throng the Shiva temples to witness the ritual which is performed after midnight.

11 abhishekams are performed as per the tradition on the presiding deity with the darshan after last abhishekam regarded to be very auspicious.

Priests in Srikalahasti told the devotees that the ritual was finished after the tenth abhishekam and only VIPs were given the opportunity to have the darshan after the eleventh abishekam. Even though some devotees argued over the issue, priests chose to ignore them. Due to the late arrival of chief priest Babu Gurukul, the ritual is said to have begun half-an-hour behind schedule.

Temple EO, B. Rami Reddy when contacted said that there is no specific time for Lingodbhavam while the abhishekams are first performed to the Goddess and only then on the deity on Sivaratri. During the abhishekams, there were no VIPs except judicial officials and general devotees were allowed after the eleventh abhishekam. The confusion caused over the delay was due to the late arrival of the chief priest which resulted in the delay of performing the last abhishekam.