Chowdhari, who was later arrested for desecrating the temple, told police that an apparition of Lord Shiva advised him to sprinkle a few drops of rum on the Jyotirling at Aunda Nagnath, to help renounce his addiction. So the alcoholic, who hails from Jalna, dutifully made the trip to Aund Nagnath, 40 km north-east of Parabhani district, and poured some rum on the Jyotirling in a temple there.

Following Choudhari's abhishek, a group of devotees entered the gurbhagriha, the well wherethe Jyotirling stands, and got a whiff of alcohol in its scared precincts. When a search turned up an empty 180-ml bottle of McDowell's rum, the outraged devotees raised an alarm. Chowdhari, who had no idea of the turmoil he had left behind, was easily traced to Jalna, where he resides, and was arrested by the Parbhani Rural police.

Inquiries in Aunda Nagnath revealed that Choudhari had telephoned Jalna from the town and after putting a trace on the number, police located his whereabouts. The tippler was picked up on Thursday and charged under Section 385 of the Indian Penal Code (defiling a place of worship). He was remanded to police custody today.

In the meantime, the majority Lingayat community at Aunda Nagnath accused the minority Brahmins, who control the temple trust, of abetting Choudhari in his unusual abhishek. They also accused the trustees of luring thousands of devotees to perform various pujas at the temple to extract money.

The incident also assumed political overtones, withthe Congress backing a village bandh called by the Lingayats. The ruling Shiv Sena-BJP threw its weight behind the temple trustees. The bandh, which was near total today, was peaceful, police at the Aunda Nagnath police station told Express Newsline.

The Aunda Nagnath temple houses one of the 12 most revered Jyotirlings in the country and is believed to have been built by the Pandavas. Fashioned in the spectacular Himalpanti class of sculpture, it draws thousands of Shiv devotees from across the country.

Police say Chowdhari confessed to enlisting the help of one of the temple priests to perform the alchohol abhishek. After initially turning down his request, the priest managed to secure permission from a group of trustees and gave Choudhari the go-ahead.

To sanctify the temple once again, the trustees have undertaken an eloborate purification ritual, which includes bathing the Jyotirling with water and milk.

But the irreverent tippler is still wondering what the fuss is all about. Afterall, Lord Shiva is known to wink at the occasional chhota peg. In fact, many tipplers even raise a toast to Him during the Mahashivratri and Holi festivals.