Belthangady : Dr D Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala has said that  man should give more importance towards the purity of the inner soul instead of giving importance merely to external appearance.

He was speaking after inaugurating Shiva Panchakshari Namasmarane on account of Shivaratri at Dharmasthala on the night of March 10, Sunday.

If bathing cleanses body, visits to pilgrim shrines cleanses soul. He said  offering prayers and worshipping the Lord  during the festivals will provide more blessings.

D Surendra Kumar, Supriya Harshendra Kumar, Shreyas Kumar, Hanumanthappa and others were present. Hanumanthappa who  has been undertaking padayatra  since the past 34 years, has this time arrived with 40,000 devotees.