Karnataka's 111-year-old revered seer Shivakumara Swami of Siddaganga mutt at Tumakuru returned to the mutt from Chennai hospital, where he recently underwent a liver operation, an official said on Wednesday.
"The pontiff has recovered from the surgery and is in good health," the mutt's administrative officer S. Vishwanath told IANS from Tumakuru, about 70km northwest from the state capital.
The seer was flown to Chennai from Bengaluru on December 7 in an air ambulance for the operation to treat his liver and bile duct infection and was flown back after his recovery to Bengaluru on Wednesday.
"The swami was able to travel by road to Tumakuru after he was airlifted to Bengaluru from Chennai," the official said.
Known among his followers as a walking god and an incarnation of 12th century renowned social reformer Basava, the Lingayat seer is also the head of the Sree Siddaganga Education Society, which runs about 125 educational institutions in the state -- from engineering colleges to business schools.
The over century-old Swamiji has been in and out of hospitals of late for treatment of symptoms related to his advanced age.
The seer complained of fever on December 1, following which he was taken to BGS Hospitals where it was found that three of his stents had come off. In a one-and-a-half-hour procedure following this, two more stents were placed and he was discharged on Monday. However, the fever returned on Wednesday night. Doctors were called in who examined him at the mutt and treated him and were able to stabilise his condition.
Later on December 7, Shivakumara Swami, was airlifted from Bengaluru to Chennai for further treatment after having been diagnosed with cholecystitis.
Cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder which occurs when there is a blockage of the cystic duct due to any gallstones or biliary sludge. While acute forms of the condition are not life threatening, if left untreated, it can pose greater complications.
Known among his followers as a "walking god" and an incarnation of 12th century renowned social reformer Basava, Swami heads the Sree Siddaganga Education Society, which runs about 125 educational institutions ranging from engineering to business schools/colleges in the state.
Born on April 1, 1907, in Veerapura village of Ramanagara district in Karnataka, Swami is involved in philanthropic activities, and was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Union government in 2015.