Grand procession sets tone for Mastakabhisheka from today

A festive atmosphere prevailed at Shravanabelagola, with a grand procession being taken out to Vindhyagiri on Friday afternoon.

Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami inaugurated the procession of folk troupes at Tyagi Nagar. MLA C N Balakrishna and Mahotsava special officer B N Varaprasad Reddy joined the troupes and danced to the beats. The five-km procession was divided into three groups A, B and C. While group A began the procession from engineering college, B started from Deve Gowda circle and C from Panchakalyana Nagar. The procession created a garland of sorts around Vindhyagiri. Around 200 art troupes from across the country and 50 tableaux took part in the procession depicting the rich culture and tradition of Lord Bahubali. Folk troupes showcasing the lion dance, peacock dance, 24 thirthankaras, Bahubali statue, yakshagana and hulivesha entertained the crowds.

Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, munis, matajis, devotees from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and other places witnessed the procession. Scouts and Guides, and volunteers distributed butter milk, water, juice and lemonade all along the procession route to the participants. The procession, which began at 3 pm, culminated at 7 pm.

Nathidevi Kumar Toliya and family from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, donated a gold-plated rath to the Jain Mutt as part of Mahamastakabhisheka on Friday, at the foot of Vindhyagiri. The chariot has beautiful carvings along with a gopura. Bahubali's idol was placed on the chariot and was pulled for a distance.

Charukeerthi Bhattaraka Swami, Pushpadantha Sagar Maharaj, Dhavalakeerthi Bhattaraka Swami of Arihanthagiri and Mahamastakabhisheka Mahotsava committee national president Saritha Jain were present. Chennai-based artist Ravindran Stapati built the chariot in seven months. He has the credit of building several chariots for temples in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other states.