Sullia: Thodikana Sri Mallikarjuna Temple attracts a lot of pilgrims, but the ‘Matsyateertha’ here grabs everyone’s attention because of its sheer beauty.
The large Mahseer fish swaying and dancing in shallow water is a sheer feast for eyes.

But, with the onset of summer and with the water level depleting, the fish stock is evidently in distress.

Every year, the water dries up in the lake here with the fish literally struggling to live. The body of these fish can be seen projecting out of water as the level of water touches dangerous low.

As per experts Mahseer lives in free, fresh and flowing water.

Usually, these ‘fish of god’ face scarcity of water during April-May, but this year the drought-like situation has surfaced right in March.

In a bid to save the beautiful fish, the temple authorities pump water from distant Devaragundi waterfall into the Matsyateertha through pipes.

However, the unfortunate fact is that this year there has been sharp decline in quantity of water in Devaragundi iitself.

Threat looms large over these fish, if the situation continues in the same manner.

In 1999 and 2003, the fish stock here suffered due to acute drought.

It is said that if this variety of fish dies, then cultivating them again will be a herculean task.

People attach a certain degree of divinity to the fish in Thodikana as the legend has it that when Kanwa Maharishi installed the Shiva Linga here, Lord Shiva had rushed to the spot, mount on a Mahseer fish. It is believed that Lord Vishna took the form of fish then.

The locals believe that the fish in the lake are manifestation of Lord Vishnu himself.

Hence the ‘Naivedhya’ (food offered to the deity) inside the temple is first served to the fish.

The devotees too throng in large numbers to Matsyateertha to feed puffed rice to the fish.