Costly ritual! Kalasa abhisheka fee soars to Rs 35 lakh

Hassan: It could be the costliest Mahamastakabhisheka to date. Devotees performing the kalasa abhisheka of Bahubali’s statue (bathing it in milk and so on) during the nine-day ceremony starting February 17 will have to fork out anywhere between Rs 75,000 and a staggering  Rs 35 lakh for it.

The ceremony of anointing the  nearly 60 ft tall Bahubali statue, atop the Vindhyagiri Hill at Shravanabelagola of Hassan district is held once in 12 years. Devotees pour pots of milk, turmeric and tender coconut water over it and arrive in droves to perform the ceremony.

This year the bookings for the kalasa abhisheka began with a starting price of Rs 5,000 but soon shot up, according to the  Kalasa Abhisheka booking centre at Shravanabelagola. Devotees  will now have to chose from a fee of Rs 75,000,  Rs 1,111 lakh, Rs 2.25 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 35 lakh to anoint Bahubali’s head, it says. 

The fee comes with  additional benefits such as some extra time to watch the rituals of Bahubali during the event. But those who don’t succeed in participating in the ceremony don’t have to go away disheartened as  they have time till August 31 to perform it. The Shravanabelagola Jain Mutt has made arrangements for  devotees to do the head anointing of Bahubali’s statue  every Sunday till the end of August, when the Mahamastakabhisheka officially comes to an end.