Devotees will head to Koti Lingeshwara todayKolar : The tiny village of Kammasandra in Bangarpet taluk is being spruced up for Maha Shivarathri on Monday. The Village has become a cynosure of Shiva devotees for the past three decades, thanks to the presence of lakhs of Shiva lingas. It is virtually a pilgrimage centre and is called Kammasandra or Kotilingeswara Kshethra. Maha Shivarathri is celebrated here with fervour, and over 2 lakh devotees will visit the temple for divine blessings.
Many prominent personalities, including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, former Chief ministers Ramakrishna Hegde, S. Bangarappa, Veerappa Moily, Dharam Singh and other top politicians have visited the place and erected Shive Lingas at the shrine in their names, as a mark of devotion.
Union minister of state for surface transport K H Muniyappa, who represents Kolar constituency, is a staunch devotee of Lord Shiva and is sure to visit the temple on Monday.
The star attraction is the 108-ft tall Shiva Linga, which is visible from a distance of about 10 km. There are over 87 lakh lingas erected by devotees of all classes and creeds. Hundreds of Shiva Lingas are erected by people of other religions, including Muslims and Christians. Many foreign delegates too have visited the place and documented the temple, which is filmed often by Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and other language directors.
The meet the desmands of commuters from various parts of the state, KSRTC has been running regular services.
Sri Shambashiva Swamy, the dharmadhikari, has been holding various social activities, including mass marriages and health check-up camps on the 25 acres of land attached to the temple.
According to V Kumari, secretary of the Sri Kotilingeswara Temple Trust, the temple has been running a school for over 800 students where free meals are also provided.
