Puri: A few hours after the picture of a Shalagram, an iconic representation of Lord Vishnu, reportedly being worshipped at Srimandir was found doing the rounds on social media, heritage experts and servitors of the 12th century shrine dubbed it fake.
According to heritage expert Surendra Kumar Mishra, Shalagram is a spherical fossilised shell found mostly on the banks of Gandaki river near the Himalayas.
“Legend has it that king Indradyumna had installed around 1,00,008 Shalagrams around the ‘Ratna Simhasan’ (Golden Throne) at Srimandir. Hence, the representations of the deities were carried in a procession around the ‘Ratna Simhasan’ during several rituals. In Odisha, we usually don’t find images of Shalagram. The picture of Shalagram found doing the rounds on social media also doesn’t belong to Srimandir,” Mishra said.
Senior servitor Madhab Chandra Pujapanda, too, termed it as false. “Just came to know about the picture doing rounds on social media. It’s fake. There is no such ‘Shalagram’ being worshipped at Srimandir,” Pujapanda claimed.
