Madikeri:  The sacred ‘Kalasha’ on the ‘Praveshadwara’ (welcome arch) of the famous Sri Bhagandeshwara Temple in Bhagamandala was damaged after a lightning struck it on Thursday night.

Out of the five Kalashas on the temple’s entrance Gopura, the Kalasha on the extreme right side was damaged by the lightning. Due to the impact, the Kalasha fell off while four other Kalashas have remained intact. On Friday morning, the temple priest noticed the Kalasha’s damage and reported the same to the Temple Management Committee.

Kodagu District has been receiving rain accompanied by thunder and lightning for the past three days and local residents say that never before they have experienced such severity of lightning and thunder.  Reacting on the Kalasha fall, retired Executive Officer of Bhagamandala Bhagandeshwara Temple Committee Sampath Kumar told Star of Mysore that the copper and bronze Kalashas were installed and cemented at the base for extra strength.  He said that the Kalasha will be reinstalled by the Temple authorities and there is nothing inauspicious about it but a natural occurrence.