SURAT, GUJARAT, INDIA, February 15, 2011: Thousands of devotees from south Gujarat and Maharashtra are expected to visit the tribal-dominated Dharampur area to worshipping an enormous 25-ft-tall shivalingam made using 1.6 million rudraksha beads, which will be unveiled on Mahashivratri on March 1.
A devotee of Lord Shiva, Batuk Vyas, has been making the rudraksh shivalingam every year to honor the Deity during Shivaratri festival. He had started with making an 11-inch rudraksha shivalingam in 2000 and last year Vyas made a 25-feet shivalingam using 850,000 rudraksha beads.
‘Last year more than 200,000 devotees from across the state and Maharashtra visited Dharampur to worship the rudraksha shivalingam. This year, we are expecting more than 200,000 devotees to throng Dharampur,’ Vyas said.