Devotees can now offer maximum of half-a-litre of RO water at Jyotirlinga Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain

Ujjain: Devotees would now be allowed to offer only half-a-litre of RO water as ‘jalabhishek’ at Jyotirlinga Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain. The Supreme Court of India has set new norms for devotees to worship at the in Ujjain of Madhya Pradesh.

According to the new norms, only 1.25 litre of panchamrit – a mixture of milk, curd, honey, sugar and ghee – should be allowed per devotee, only RO water should be allowed for ‘jalabhishek’ and it should be limited to half a litre per devotee and exhaust fans should be installed inside the sanctum sanctorum.

The sanctum sanctorum should be kept dry when jalabhishek is not being done and jalabhishek should not be allowed throughout the day, said the norms. According to them, sugar powder should not be allowed as offering over the Shivalingam while only a specified amount of ‘bel patra’ leaves should be allowed per devotee.

The Supreme Court had formed a committee of experts consisting of officials from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Geological Survey of India (GSI) to look into the causes that were leading to the shrinking of the Shiva lingam, said media reports. The committee was formed after the apex court was petitioned by Ujjani Vidwat Parishad that claimed that the Shiva Lingam was shrinking because of excessive bhang (marijuana leaves) offerings.

The committee recently visited the temple in Ujjain. It consulted the temple managing committee and other stake holders and made the following recommendations before the Supreme Court.