Hassan: Some say it's a divine miracle, while others prefer to look for a more rational explanation. But whatever be their belief, most are surprised by the 800-year- old well that seems to be always filled with water inside the Nageshwara Temple in Nagara Navile village, Channarayapatna taluk, Hassan, when all other water sources around have long gone dry.
Temple priest, Abhilash has no doubt the perennial well is a miracle as the eight other wells in Navile village and a lake near the temple have dried up owing to the low rainfall in the region.
So strong is the belief in the healing powers of the water from the well that devotees arrive to have it poured over their heads, hoping that it will cure them of skin ailments and other diseases. The water is also used to bathe the idols of the temple deities, Nageshwara , Parvathi and others.
Priest Abhilash, who has served the temple for about seven years now, says going by his grandfather the well did go dry for about 30 years when the region was under a severe drought, but has never been without water since.
Dismissing all talk of divinity, a geologist, however,. believes the well could be getting its water supply from a point in its vicinity. which has a lot of it accumulated. “One needs to look into the geological conditions of the region to ascertain the exact reason why the well in the temple has never gone dry, when others in the area have,” he says.
