The temple town of Dharmasthala has a festive look with the fourth 10-day mahamastakabhisheka celebrations beginning from Saturday.
The anointing of the 39-ft high monolithic statue of Bahubali, a Jain sage, will be performed for three days from February 16.
The stone sculpture symbolises renunciation, self-control and subjugation of the ego as the first step towards salvation.
Many Jain monks have already arrived at the town to witness the ritual held once every 12 years. The ‘padabhisheka’ to the statue is held every year.
It was sculpted by Renjala Gopalakrishna Shenoy under the aegis of Ratnavarma Heggade in 1973. It was then positioned atop Ratnagiri Hill in the temple town in 1982 by D. Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala.
The bust of the late sculptor will be unveiled atop the hill on Saturday evening. A laser show will also be inaugurated on the occasion.
The transportation of the gigantic monolithic statue, with a 13-ft pedestal and weighing about 170 tonnes, from Karkala to Dharmasthala was a challenge. A distance of 64 km was covered on a trolley with 64 wheels, driven by three tractors of 250 HP, over winding roads in 1970.
The mahamastakabhisheka of Bahubali has since been performed thrice — in 1982, 1995, and in 2007.
According to the Public Works Department, it has completed roads and other infrastructure works relating to the mahamastakabhisheka in Belthangady taluk to the tune of ₹27.5 crore.
It included widening of the road from Snanaghatta to Dharmasthala, development of the road leading to Ratnagiri Hill, and installation of nine high-mast streetlights in the vicinity of the temple town.