BHOPAL, INDIA, July 2, 2006: Offerings of milk, curd, water and other traditional materials on the sacred Jyotir Lingam at the famous Omkareshwar temple has been with banned to save the symbol of Lord Siva from further erosion, officials said Sunday. The Khandwa district administration took the decision Saturday on the advice of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), the officials said. “The damage is being caused due to the offerings made on the Siva Lingam which is made of sandstone – a comparatively soft material,” said ASI deputy superintendent Ashok Kumar Pandey who had inspected the damaged Lingam. The Jyotir Lingam at Omkareshwar, 350 km from here, is one of the 12 major Siva Lingams in India and Nepal. “A crack had been found in the one-foot high Siva Lingam a few days ago and was repaired using a locally made paste but it did not prove effective,” said Swami Tejanand, chief priest of the Omkareshwar Temple Trust that looks after the temple. “The Jyotir Lingam has suffered damage because a large number of devotees touch it every day during rituals,” he said. “The trust is seriously considering the installation of a new Jyotir Lingam after submerging the existing Siva Lingam in the holy Narmada river some time after August. Swami Jayendra Saraswati of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham is being consulted on the issue,” the priest said. However, Khandwa district collector Nikunj Kumar Shrivastava said the administration was consulting the ASI to preserve the Lingam and there were no plans to install a new one. Meanwhile, the temple trust is planning to place a transparent cover over the present Siva Lingam till a new one is installed.
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