Mysuru:  The 70th Mastakabhisheka Mahotsava at Gommatagiri near Bettadur village in Bilikere Hobli of Hunsur taluk was held this morning under the aegis of Sri Gommatagiri Kshetra Seva Samiti, in the presence of thousands of devotees, who had thronged the Jain shrine for the annual ritual.

As the countdown for the annual Mastakabhisheka began and the priests chanted sacred hymns, swarming devotees occupied vantage points to get a glimpse of the idol bathed in holy water, turmeric, milk, tender coconut, sugarcane juice, sandal paste and a host of other fragrant  liquids. The first Mastakabhisheka was held during the reign of erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore Jayachamaraja Wadiyar in 1949.

The Mastakabhisheka ritual was performed to the 16-foot tall monolith statue, said to have been sculpted by Ganga kings 850 years ago. When the auspicious hour arrived, Jain seers signalled the start of the ceremony and priests atop the special platform above the idol began the Mastakabhisheka by pouring holy water (Jalabhishekha) at around 12 noon.

The statue of Gommateshwara was bathed with water mixed with turmeric, sandal paste, kumkum, tender coconut, milk and other ingredients as per the tradition of the Jains who had congregated in large numbers.

The statue situated atop a hillock, shimmered in different colours during the  Mastakabhisheka.

Devotees chanted Bhagavan Bahubali ki jai and Gommateshwara ki jai, even as over a dozen priests led by Dharanendran began performing the rituals starting with abhisheka.

Thousands of Jain community members and other devotees  from across the State are taking part in this annual event. The KSRTC operated special bus services to the Jain shrine from Shivamogga, Bengaluru, Mysuru, K.R. Nagar, K.R. Pet and other places.

Shivamogga’s Hombuja Mutt seer Devendrakeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji, Mandya’s Aratipura Jain Mutt seer Siddanthakeerthi Bhattaraka Swamiji and a host of other Jain seers were present.

 Located about 34 km from Mysuru, the statue of Bahubali at Gommatagiri resembles its counterpart at Shravanabelagola, the difference being in size with the former not more than 16-ft tall while the Shravanabelagola statue measures 58 ft.