Vishnu Manchu embarks on pilgrimage to 12 Jyothirlingas, shares insights on devotion, spirituality

Vishnu Manchu, who wrote the script for ‘Kannappa’—a film about a warrior devotee of Lord Shiva—shared a video on Instagram, saying, “I must truthfully admit something. Before working on ‘Kannappa,’ I wasn’t a very devoted follower of Lord Shiva. I have always been a devotee of Lord Hanuman and continue to recite the Hanuman Chalisa every day, even now.”

Chennai: Actor Vishnu Manchu, who plays the lead in director Mukesh Kumar Singh’s upcoming magnum opus, ‘Kannappa’, has now disclosed that he will be undertaking a journey to the 12 holy Jyothirlingas, situated across the country.

Taking to Instagram, Vishnu Manchu, who penned the script for ‘Kannappa’ – a warrior devotee of Lord Shiva, posted a video in which he said, “I have to truthfully admit one thing. Before starting work on ‘Kannappa’, I was not such a big devotee of Lord Shiva. I was a devotee of Lord Hanuman and I would recite the Hanuman Chalisa every day even to this day.

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“When I wrote Kannappa, I researched a lot and that brought about a lot of changes in me. I found out about what Jyothrilingas were and why one must visit them. I decided that I must visit all these 12 holy places where these Jyothirlingas are situated,” the actor explained.

Stating that he would be putting out a series of videos on this, Vishnu further said, “A lot of people do not know what these Jyothirlingas are. I too did not know their significance until a while back. So, for people like me who do not know about the Jyothirlingas, I have decided to do a series of videos on Jyothirlingas.”

The actor then went on to explain the different beliefs in different yugas. “We are in Kaliyug now. In Sathyayuga, the belief was that one could get closer to God if one did penance. The belief then was that meditation would help you realise the purpose of your life. Now, in Kaliyug, the belief is that if you visit holy places, you will not only come closer to God but will also know the purpose behind your birth.”

“These 12 Jyothirlingas are powerful places. These places are testimony to the fact that Lord Shiva walked among common people. From Kedarnath to Rameshwaram, there are 12 Jyothirlingas all across the country. There is a story behind each story. I wish to visit each one of the Jyothirlingas. The belief is that one will be able to realise one’s life purpose near one of the 12 Jyothirlingas. Today, my purpose of life is to be an actor till the day I die. But what is the higher purpose of my life? This journey to the 12 Jyothirlingas is a journey of self-realisation for me. I have already visited three Jyothirlingas — Kedarnath, Omkareshwar and Ujjain. I will tell about these three temples in my next video. I will also narrate the story of all the Jyothirlingas before I visit them.”