INDORE: An ancient chamber has been discovered at Omkareshwar Jyotirlinga in Madhya Pradesh during the ongoing restoration work, giving rise to speculations that it might lead to original Shivling which was believed to have been covered up by temple authorities in the 17th century to divert attention of invading Mughals.Khandwa district administration on Tuesday said that the ancient chamber found underneath the temple’s sanctum sanctorum was considered to be part of the original structure.Experts involved with restoration project said that the chamber appeared to have been constructed between 8th and 9th century and might be around 8x10ft with the wall’s thickness from lower portion between 65am and 75cm. “The current structure, where Shivling is placed, was constructed to divert attention of invaders,” they said.Locals and temple management speculated about the presence of a Shivling in the newly-found chamber, but it has not been confirmed so far.“The chamber is located exactly under the spire ‘shikhara’ of the temple, and as per belief, there can be a Shivling in the chamber,” said Munish Pandit, a consultant appointed by the administration for restoration work.District collector Vishesh Garhpale told TOI that the chamber was found when 3D scanning of entire temple building was carried out to check its structural stability. “We were able to identify some kind of space exactly below the temple building,” Garhpale said.“Core drilling in lower portion of the wall located on the left side of the temple was carried out to ascertain size of the room. The position of the room has been confirmed, but presence of silt has restricted endoscopy work. The temple’s sanctum sanctorum hasn’t been touched, ” he said.The collector added that the temple management and locals had been taken into confidence to further investigate the structure using advanced techniques.

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