Daijiworld Media Network – Sullia (SP)

Sullia, Nov 28: This year’s Champa Shashti of Lord Subrahmanyeshwara Temple in Subrahmanya will be different from the previous ones. The ‘Made-Made Snana’, a ritual followed by devotees during the annual festival of the temple in fulfillment of vows and towards favours received from the Lord, has been discarded by the temple management.

In a release, Puttur assistant commissioner, Sundar Bhat, who also happens to be the executive officer of the temple, has requested the devotees to take note of this and desist from following this practice. Under the said practice, devotees lie down on the ground and roll their bodies over the left out banana leaves in which Brahmins had consumed their food  earlier in the day. On three days (Chowti, Panchami, and Shashti) during this annual festival, since ancient times, Brahmins are served food on banana leaves in the outer yard of the temple, and devotees undertake Made-Made Snana there. Made-Made Snana is a vow the devotees take when they seek divine intervention to get rid of skin diseases for which they do not find cure in normal systems of medicine.

The temple management said it has been receiving protests and objections from various sources including the general public, against the above practice, which is considered inhuman and derogatory.

Since the last one year, a number of people including social workers, scholars, writers, and organizations, have been objecting to the continuance of the said practice. On a complaint to the Human Rights Commission, a notice had also been served on the temple. The temple had quoted from Puranas about the continuance of the said practice prevalent since long.

The festival this time is being conducted between November 28 and 30. Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner, N S Channappa Gowda, had expressed his opposition to the procedure recently, and with the issuance of the release by the temple management now, the age-old practice has been assigned to history books. The temple management, towards this end, has decided not to serve food at the outer yard of the temple, to stop devotees from forcibly undertaking this ritual.