Mangalore: Two widows become priests, lead rituals at Kudroli Temple

Pics: Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (BG)

Mangalore, Oct 6: In what may be termed as a milestone in the history of Kudroli Shree Gokarnanatheshwara Temple and Mangalore Dasara celebrations, two widows on Sunday October 6 took the lead in performing rituals at the temple and were formally appointed temple priests.

The two women were welcomed with a grand procession flanked by music bands, Chende and saxophone sets. They performed special puja to the presiding deity on the occasion.

They also offered puja to deities Annapurneshwari, Hanuman, Navagraha, Krishna, Dattatreya and Sharada. This was followed by Theertha and Prasada distribution to the devotees. They also inaugurated the newly installed idol of Lord Dattatreya and offered special prayers.

Addressing mediapersons, Janardhan Poojary said, “After the death of the husband, a woman used to be isolated from society. She was not allowed to take part in any auspicious occasion. Earlier there was a system called Sati, where the woman who had lost her husband had to immolate hreself in his funeral pyre. In another system, a woman had to shave her head and sit between four walls of the house. But as time passed and reformation took place, these inhuman systems were completely eradicated from society.”

“Brahmashree Narayana Guru said we all are children of God and we have equal rights before Him. His preaching has been followed here. Earlier, people belonging to the backward classes were not allowed to enter temples. But Narayana Guru changed the whole untouchability system. He faced criticism and threats, but he overcame them was able to get rid of such systems from society,” he said.

“This system that has been introduced in the Temple not only gives dignity to widows, but also gives them the status of mother, in lines of the saying, 'Matru Devo Bhava', meaning 'Mother is God'. This will also help in reducing atrocities against women, rapes and harassment,” he said.

The two widows who took over as priests in the Temple are Lamxi Shanthi, resident of Bantwal Mooda and Indira Shanthi of Ballur, Puttur. One of them is also a member of gram panchayat in her village. They have been trained for priesthood by Lokesh Shanthi for the past four months.

"Mantras do not matter much, but true devotion is important for any offering. Even if married women or girls irrespective of caste, creed and religion, comes forward to take up priesthood, we will train them," he added.

Congress member Kripa Alva, who was also present, said, “With the introduction of this tradition, a social transformation has taken place in this Temple. There is no written script that says women cannot serve as priests. None of present rituals are written, but practiced and followed by people themselves.”

She added, “Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the one who abolished Sati system from our society. Differences in opinion are quite common in such revolutionary works, but this is indeed a progressive step towards widows. Women are making headway in each and every field and there is nothing wrong if she becomes a priest. Devotion is something that is needed for any religious ritual and in fact, women are more devotional than men,” she added.

H S Sairam, Raghavendra Kulur, Madhava Suvarna, Padmaraj R, B K Tharanath, Ravishankar Mijar, K Maheshchandra, Harikrishna Bantwal, Kallige Tharnath Shetty,  MLA Mohiuddin Bava, corporators Deepak Poojary, Rathikala and Kavitha, Arun Coelho among others were present during the installation ceremony.