Hundreds of litres of water, milk, sugarcane juice, tender coconut water and other liquids are poured on the Gomateshwara Statue atop Vindhyagiri during Mahamastakabhisheka. But where do all the liquids flow to? This has remained a mystery and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) now hopes to crack it.
“There is a crevice in front of the statue, and liquids flows through it. But nobody knows where the outlet is,” K. Moortheswari, Superintending Archaeologist of Bengaluru Circle, told The Hindu .
Team to be formed
“It is difficult to find the outlet. We will form a team of engineers and archaeological experts to find out the path of the water, once Mahamastakabhisheka is over,” the officer said.
The ritual of pouring liquids on the statue continues until August this year.
According to one of the stories attached to this centre of pilgrimage, liquids, especially milk, poured on the statue collects in the pond located right at the bottom of Vindhyagiri. In fact, it is called bili-kola (white pond) for this reason, goes the story. The name of the place — Belagaola — is a variant of this word. However, right now, there is no clear path to show that liquids flow from the hill to the pond and it does not turn white during the ‘abhishekha.’
Since Mahamasta- kabhisheka began on February 17, hundreds of litres of milk is bought from the Hassan Union of Milk Producers every day for cooking and abhishekha. “It goes up to 8,000 litres a day. The quantity depends on the number of visitors to the town, as they all should be provided food,” said Gopalaiah, managing director of Hassan Union of Milk Producers.
