Believers Drink Krishna's Holy Water
Actually Mold-Infested Air Conditioner Condensate
An absurd incident occurred in India where water known as holy water in Hinduism, which countless devotees lined up to drink and apply, was found to be condensation water from an air conditioner.
Recently, multiple media outlets including The Economic Times India and online media Oddity Central reported that the true identity of the 'holy water' at Shri Banke Bihari Temple, a Hindu temple in Vrindavan, northern India, was revealed. Every day, many devotees flocked to this temple, lining up to catch and drink water dripping from an elephant statue on the wall.
People are collecting and drinking water coming from a statue at a Hindu temple in Brinda, northern India. [Image source=Captured from X (formerly Twitter)]
The people who drank the water believed the liquid to be 'Charan Amrit.' Charan Amrit refers to the holy water that comes from the feet of Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, the principal deity in Hinduism. Devotees drank and sprinkled this water on their heads to receive the blessings of the holy water. However, this water was not holy water but condensation water from the temple’s air conditioner. When the air conditioner operates, cold air is supplied to the heat exchanger, and as it blows cool air, the warm indoor air and moisture condense on the cooled indoor heat exchanger, turning into liquid condensation water, which then flows outside through a drainage pipe.
Ultimately, the temple issued a statement to prevent people from drinking the air conditioner condensation water. This is because condensation water from air conditioners contains bacteria and mold, which can be harmful to health if ingested.
Dinesh Goswami, a temple volunteer, said, "We respect people’s faith in their gods, but it was necessary to inform them of this fact," adding, "The water devotees believe to be Charan Amrit is actually just water coming from the air conditioner. Real Charan Amrit would contain ingredients like Tulsi (a sacred Hindu herb) or rose petals."
Similar incidents have occurred in India in the past. In 2012, mysterious water flowed from the foot of a cross in Mumbai, and many believed it to be a miraculous phenomenon. At that time, people tasted the water and described it as 'sweet,' but subsequent investigations confirmed that the water originated from a sewage system leak.
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