Kashi Vishwanath temple gets dress code: Dhoti, saree

The devotees visiting the famous Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi will now have to be clad in 'kurta-dhoti' or 'saree' if they wished to touch the 'shivalinga' inside the temple's 'garbha-griha' (sanctum-sanctorum).

Those wearing anything other than that would only be allowed to see the 'shivalinga' from the outside.

A decision to this effect was taken by the temple management on the advice of the Hindu scholars. UP Minister of State for Religious Affairs Neelkanth Tiwari has also given his consent to the decision and asked the management of the temple to implement the same at the earliest.

The scholars said that such a ''dress code'' was already in place at other famous Lord Shiva temples, including the 'Mahakal' temple in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain.

There was also a proposal to have a dress code for the priests at the temple. ''It will enable the temple officials to recognise the priests during the months when the temple is visited by a large number of devotees,'' said a temple official in Varanasi.

The temple management had earlier imposed a ban on the entry of the devotees into the sanctum-sanctorum in a bid to ''effectively manage'' the huge crowds, especially during festivals.

It was not clear, however, if the ban was intended only for common people or if it would also apply to VIPs, who often visit the temple and perform 'Rudrabhishek' (a special puja).

Kashi Vishwanath Temple is among the 12 'Jyotirlingas' (Shiva Temples) in the country and attracts devotees from across the world.