Parjanya japa held at Talacauvery to propitiate rain god

To propitiate the rain gods, the officials of Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Ltd (CNNL) chanted Parjanya japa at Talacauvery, the birthplace of River Cauvery on Sunday.

As there was stiff opposition for conducting parjanyahoma using government funds, homa was not performed. Only Parjanya japa and special prayers were held.  CNNL Executive Engineer Basavaraj and his wife took part in the special prayers held under the guidance of priest Prashanth Achar. Water Resources Minister M B Patil did not take part in the  japa.

Patil, who arrived at Bhagamandala at 3 pm along with the Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer Nirmalanandanatha Swami, offered baagina at the Triveni Sangama in Bhagamandala. Later, he offered prayers at the Bhangadeshwara Temple and Talacauvery.

Speaking to reporters, the minister said “if offering prayers to motheris wrong and a superstititious belief, then I am ready to conduct such prayers several times. Some offer prayers to lifeless stones. Why should one oppose offering prayers to the river Cauvery, the lifeline of crores of people,” he asked.

“The Krishna and the Cauvery are the lifeline of the state. I have offered prayers to mother Cauvery for good rainfall. Offering prayers to rivers is part of our tradition,” he said.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah does not believe in Parjanya homa and japa and termed it a superstitious belief. Doesn’t his wife offer prayers at temples? Has he not benefited from it?” Patil retorted.

Though the visit was termed as private, the itinerary given to local elected representatives mentioned it as a government programme. MLA P M Narendraswamy, MLC Veena Acchaiah, Patil’s wife Asha Patil, Water Resources department principal secretary Rakesh Singh, officials Gurupadaswamy, Manjunath and Rangaswamy and Kodava Sahitya Academy President B S Thammaiah were present.