12,000 devotees take part in procession at Shravanabelagola

Hassan: A great number of devotees took out a procession in the town on Friday as a part of Janmakalyana Mahotsava of Pancha Kalyana of Adinath Theerthankara. The occasion is a part of the Mahamastakabhisheka of Bhagawan Bahubali.

Jain Mutt seer Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami inaugrated the Janmabhishika to Jina Balaka by performing different rituals. The program began with Suprabhatam, earlier in the day. Around 12,000 devotees, who arrived from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and other states across the country, took out a procession in the streets of the Shravanabelagola  holding Jain religion flag and kalashas.

Performance of folk arts like nagari, dolu, tamate and kombu captivated the devotees. The devotees, holding notices with messages like ‘hapiness from peacefulness’, ‘Peace with Sacrifice’, ‘Growth from the Alliance’, strolled along the parade.

Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami and MLA C N Balakrishna hailed off the parade at Bahubali College of Engineering in the town. The parade closed at Sumeru Parvata, which is developed at Panchakalyananagar, 3 km far from the school. Afterward, Jinasishu was taken out in a parade on an elephant from Tyaginagar to Sumeru Parvata.

Following the procession, jalabhisheka to Jinasishu was performed on Panduka Shile.

Addressing the gathering, Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami explained about the significance of the Janmabhishika.

Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala D Veerendra Heggade and his wife, Vardhaman Sagar Maharaj, artists and tyagis, took part in the occasion.

Vice President of Inida M Venkaiah Naidu will visit the town on Saturday to take part in the Mahamasthakabhisheka to the statue of Lord Bahubali. He will attend Rajyabhisheka, booked to be held at Chavundaraya Sabha Mantap.