The grand anointing ceremony of Lord Bahubali atop Vindhyagiri in Shravanabelagola concluded on Sunday in the presence of thousands of devotees.
The rituals had begun on February 7. President Ram Nath Kovind participated in the event to mark the inauguration of the event, and the anointing ceremony began atop the hill on February 17.
As the last day of the mega event was a holiday, there were a large number of devotees. Though entry to the public was allowed only after 2 p.m., after the anointing ceremony concluded, people began to stand in queue from early in the day. Hundreds of people stood in wait for hours before being allowed up the hill.
Ramesh, a resident of Bengaluru, visited with his family. He was already in queue by 9.30 a.m. “I don’t know how long I need to wait to climb up the hill. But my wish is to catch a glimpse of the statue soon after the ceremony,” he said. There were hundreds of people in queue even hours after the ceremony.
According to Charukeerthy Bhattaraka Swami of Jain Mutt, over 65 lakh people visited the place during the ceremony. However, journalists and officials present in town dismissed this number. “We will get the exact number of visitors once the calculations are over. But we are happy that the turnout was more than expected,” the seer said.
Jain Mutt will hold an anointing ceremony on Monday as well for the benefit of volunteer who made the event a success. And from next Sunday, the anointing of the statue will continue. “We will hold the ceremony every Sunday till June this year. The people who could not participate in the event all these days can witness it then,” the seer said.
As part of the concluding ceremony on Monday, the seer will visit all the temporary townships and thank the participants. “I thank the Union government, the State government, officials, volunteers and the media for making the event a success. We will invite Chief Minister Siddaramaiah soon and thank him for the government’s cooperation,” he told reporters.
