Pejawar seer Vishveshateertha has come up with a formula to resolve the controversy surrounding ‘made snana’, the practice of people from lower castes rolling over leftover food eaten by upper castes at the Kukke Subramanya temple during the annual fair.
He said the deity’s ‘prasada’ could be placed around the temple sanctum sanctorum and it could be fed to cows, considered holy. Devotees could then roll over it.
The compromise formula was widely accepted and could end the row, he said.
The government and the temple authorities will take a decision that won’t hurt the sentiments of devotees, he told a presser after a programme organised to elicit the opinions of devotees in the town on Monday.
The outcome of the meeting is not the final solution, but only a process to find one, the seer said.
He said continuing with the original practice would disturb harmony among people of various castes of the Hindu community.
He said he had held discussions with the members of the Malekudiya community, the original inhabitants of the town, who were now coming round to the fact that the practice needs to undergo change in keeping with the times.
A ‘prashna’ (ritual to seek answers from the divine) would be organised, so that fears among the Malekudiyas about the consequences of modifying the practice could be addressed.
The seer said that while it was not right for the government to meddle in religious affairs, a solution should be found so that the people’s sensibilities are not hurt and at the same time ensuring that the social problem is resolved.
“Let us evolve a consensus with an open mind to eradicate social inequities,” he said.
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