In continuation of the social revolution initiated at Kudroli Gokarnanatheshwara temple, nearly 1,500 widows performed pooja to Goddess Lakshmi on the occasion of Deepavali on Thursday.
The widows, wearing bangles, vermilion and flowers and led by three widow priestesses , performed ‘aarti’ to the idols of Lakshmi and Vishnu. They then pulled the silver chariot in which the deity was placed and were offered sari, vermilion and bangles as ‘prasadam’.
A series of social reformation activities have been taken up at the temple in the past three years. In 2011, over 2,000 widows took part in ‘Chandika homa’. Recently, during Dasara utsav, two dalit widows were appointed priestesses
. Speaking on behalf of the temple Trust, former union minister B Janardhana Poojary said that the reform measures were being implemented based on message of social reformer Narayana Guru.
Published 23 October 2014, 19:54 IST