It was blind ‘bhakti’ bordering on absurdity that drove two devotees of Lord Siva to jump into a ritual fire lighted during Maha Sivaratri in a remote village in Jainoor mandal of Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh state in the early hours of Tuesday.
The two devotees of Shivnoor village in Gondguda gram panchayat, resorted to the bizarre act during Sivaratri ‘jagran’ — a ritual wherein the devotees remain awake — to appease the god. Jante Devidas (23) and Ade Sitaram (28) even promised their families that they would have darshan of Lord Siva during the festivities, a relative said. Their charred remains were found in a heap by the bystanders on Tuesday morning.
“They went to the village outskirts and immolated themselves by jumping into the raging flames between 3 am and 4 am, on the last day of their 41-day Siva deeksha” the relative said.
According to police, the duo left the place in the middle of a bhajan being performed by other devotees at the village temple. Before leaving, they told the fellow devotees that they would have darshan of Lord Siva and bring Him to the village.
Both the devotees had been taking Siva deeksha for the last five years. The police, who registered a case, have begun questioning other devotees and family members on the circumstances that led to the incident. A tense situation prevailed in the tiny village with people from surrounding areas gathering in large numbers.
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