Panchamaha Vaibhava to be major ritual

DHARMASTHALA: The life of Lord Bahubali in the form of ‘Bahubali Panchamaha Vaibhava’ will be the centrepiece of rituals at the fourth Mahamastakhabhisheka that gets underway at Ratnagiri of Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala from February 9. With senior Jain munis – Vardhamana Sagar ji and Pushtadanta Sagar ji guiding the 3-day anointment rituals of the 39 feet monolith that gets under way on February 16, the rituals preceding it will focus on the Lord himself.
D Veerendra Heggade, dharmadhikari, Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala,said while Jains in general know about life of Lord Bahubali, the Bahubali Panchamaha Vaibhava spread over five days from February 11 will give the next generation a deeper perspective of one of the towering figures of Jainism, that prides itself on the principle of ahimsa. “The life of the lord from his youth to self-realisation of truth is something that needs to be reinforced,” said Heggade.

Explaining that ‘Bahubali Panchamaha Vaibhava’ is a change from tradition, Heggade told reporters that usually Mahamastakhabhisheka is offered to Lord Bahubali after the traditional panchakalyana programme for the Jain tirthankaras. “The acharya duo and Charukeerthi Bhattaraka of Sri Kshetra Shravanabelagola have permitted us to hold religious and cultural programmes in the form of Bahubali Panchamaha Vaibhava,” noted Heggade.

For 108 Vardhamana Sagar ji, this will be his second Mahamastakhabhisheka at the Kshetra here, while this is the first such occasion for 108 Pushtadanta Sagar ji, Heggade said, adding the duo will be coming down with their retinue of disciples. These highly-learned scholars will also be in the forefront of ‘Santha Sammelan’, a multi-religious meet to be held on February 9 with the intent of spreading a message of social amity, he noted.

Heggades will offer first abhisheka

While rituals will get under way on February 9 with the aagrodhaka procession after special puja at Sri Chandranath Swami Basadi, Heggade said Mastakhabhisheka will get under way at the meena lagna time of 8.45am on February 16 with 1008 punyamrutha kalasha to the monolith. The Heggade family will offer the first Mastakhabhisheka followed by other Jain devotees who will follow suit in the order of kalashas that they will bid for, he noted.

Various committees have been set up for smooth conduct of the event, he said, welcoming the special intervention of the state government in general, and district minister U T Khader and PWD minister H D Revanna in particular, for extending all help for the event, especially in sprucing up basic infrastructure and amenities befitting an event of this stature.