P. A. CHOUDHARY, J.

( 1 ) LORD Mallikarjuna Swamivari Linga at Srisailam Hills is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of India and it is one of the three lingas after which our land of Telugus is called Trilinga . This great Linga which is acclaimed as Swayambhu is held in high reverence by all sects of Hindus all over the country and at its feet Chatrapati Sivaji Maharaja once prayed and worshipped. Its annual income now seems to be around a crore of rupees. Notwithstanding the great sanctity attached to this great shrine and the obeisance regularly made by several thousands of devotees to lord Mallikarjuna Swamy or probably because of those very reasons, the two ascetics one of Pushpagiri Mutt and the other of Srisaila Jagadguru surya Simhasana Peethadhipathi, lay their rival claims to the hereditary trusteeship of this great shrine and engage themselves in non-holds-barred legal battles ranging over several decades. Into this arena of long drawn out feuds more worthy to be fought by lesser mortals but being inconclusively waged by the two ascetics, the State Government of Andhra pradesh, throws its weight purporting to decide that of the two, the mahant of Pushpagiri Mutt is the heredi

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