PUDUKKOTTAI: Hunkering down in a 10-foot-deep pit, 55-year-old Muthukrishnan, a priest of a Murugan temple at Chinna Anna Nagar in Vadukadu near Aranthangi, was unaware of the buzz surrounding his meditation session aimed at appeasing Lord Shiva. While he was busy chanting mantras in his subterranean abode on a burial ground, the panicked villagers called in the police to stop the self-professed hermit from carrying out his occult ritual, fearing wrath of the gods.
When Express reached Vadukadu to check on Muthukrishnan, locals claimed that he shut up shop and left the burial ground in the wee hours of Thursday after the police came calling. After a brief search, Express found Muthukrishnan, who dismissed the villagers’ claims of him beating a hasty retreat, at his Chinna Anna Nagar residence.
“I ended my ritual after receiving signals from Lord Shiva. I wanted to meet the lord and he gave me a darshan. I have been a priest of Sri Balamurugan Temple for the past 30 years. I sat in meditation to introspect. I dug up a pit on the burial ground and began my dhyana on August 2. During the session, I drank only water and consumed boiled pulses brought by my family. Some villagers got scared and alerted the Aranthangi police, who visited the spot on Wednesday evening, but neither did they question nor disturb me,” the priest claimed.
“I received some positive vibes from Lord Shiva in the wee hours of Thursday. The lord told me to finish my meditation and return home. In Hindu religion, there are many modes prescribed by our saints to see god. I practised one of the many and received the lord’s blessings,” Muthukrishnan said.
However, the villagers dismissed Muthukrishnan’s claims, saying he concocted the darshan story to save his face.