Devotees celebrate 90th birthday of Sharnbaswappa Appa in Kalaburagi

The Sharnbasaveshwar shrine wore a festive look with thousands of devotees performing ‘Laksha Bilvarcharne’, a ritual offering the holy Bilva leaves, to the idol of Lord Sharanabasaveshwar and praying for Sharnbaswappa Appa, the 8th Mahadasoha Peetadhipathi of Sharanabasaveshwar Samasthan, on his 90th birthday on Thursday.

The devotees converged in the shrine early in the day to participate in the ritual to mark the beginning of the birthday of Dr. Appa, his wife Dakshayini Avva, whose 55th birthday is on November 22, and Chiranjivee Doddappa Appa, their son and ninth Peetadhipathi of the Samasthan, who celebrated his 8th birthday on November 1.

Sharanabasaveshwar Vidya Vardak Sangha secretary Basavaraj Deshmukh and other family members of Dr. Appa took part in the rituals. Prominent among others who participated included heads of religious mutts led by the Belagumpi Brahan Mutt head Abhinava Parvateshwara Shivacharyaru.

The seers initiated ‘Ayyacharya’ and ‘Linga Dharane’ to 12 children as part of the birthday celebrations.

Allamprabhu Patil, MLA, visited the shrine and participated in the rituals hosted by Veerashaiva Lingayata Maha Vedike.

Published - November 14, 2024 07:59 pm IST