Why devotees can’t offer milk, ittar or sandalwood essence at Babulnath temple’s 350-year-old shivling

After noticing early signs indicating wear and tear to the shivling made of stone, the management has disallowed other liquid offerings such as milk, ‘ittar’ or perfume or commercial sandalwood essence found in the market, to name a few.

Nitin Thakkar, chairman of the trust said, “The stone shivling is about 350 years old. It also has devotional sentiments of thousands of people attached to it. It is our priority to ensure preservation and maintenance of the Babulnath shivling. We noticed early signs indicating wear and tear. If proactive measures are not taken now, preservation will get more difficult in the long run. As a precaution, we have disallowed certain liquid offerings.”
Some time ago, it came to the management’s notice that a vendor was selling adulterated ‘milk’ to unsuspecting devotees who visited the temple, that actually comprised lime powder in water. “This was one such instance that came to our notice. Even sandalwood essence may be adulterated, hence the practice has been stopped for now. Some devotees also offer gulal, for example, which has chemicals in it.”

A few weeks ago, the temple management approached Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who represents the Malabar Hill constituency in Maharashtra, and spoke to him about the preservation of the shivling. The temple then brought IIT-B on board to suggest preservation measures. A draft report has been submitted, however, IIT-B will officially submit the report to the temple, after which trustees will take a call on the action to be taken.