Only RO purified water can be offered to Shivling at Ujjain’s Mahakal temple

Experts from ASI and GSI inspect the lingam at the Mahakal temple in Ujjain. (File/Express Photo)

To check the erosion of ‘Shivling’ in Ujjain’s Mahakal temple, the Supreme Court on Friday cleared the temple administration’s new norms, including offering only RO purified water to the Shivling, according to a report by NDTV.com. The Shivling at the Mahakal temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlings in the country. The Jyotirling sites in the country take the name of the presiding deity and each of them is considered a different manifestation of Lord Shiva.

Earlier, after a petition was filed by petitioner Sarika Guru of Ujjain, the Supreme Court had sent teams from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to investigate the erosion.

The new norms include: restricting the amount of water to not more than 500 milliliters; water should be RO purified only; Shivling to be completely covered with dry cotton cloth; during ‘Bhisma Aarti’, ‘Abhishek’ will be allowed to offer milk or ‘Panchamrut’ in a certain quantity to every devotee. Also, the ongoing technique for sewer disposal will continue, as it will take one year to set up a sewer treatment plant.

In the report of the ASI, it was found that the Kunda, used in the world famous Bhasm Aarti, is causing erosion of the Shivalinga. In addition to it, the water which is being released on the Shivling contains bacteria and is also polluted.