kolloor mookambika is one of the loveliest temples in india. near udupi, next to the sauparnika river and the kudajadri mountains, in the foothills of the western ghats, it is quiet, peaceful and a place of obvious sanctity. adi sankara is reputed to have consecrated the temple, and the devi temple there has a strong connection with the devi temple in chottanikkara near cochin and the devi temple at chettikulangara near mavelikara.
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From: sri
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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090105/jsp/frontpage/story_10344209.jsp
Kathmandu ripples in Karnataka
CITHARA PAUL
Newly appointed Pashupatinath priests Bishnu Prasad Dahal (right) and
Saligram Dhakal at the temple on January 1. (AFP)
New Delhi, Jan. 4: The Pashupatinath priest row in faraway Nepal has a
Brahmin community from Karnataka's Udupi region worried.
The Bhattas, who reside in the Karnataka-Kerala border area of Udupi,
have served as priests in the Pashupatinath temple for nearly 300
years.
Three days ago, the Maoist government's police stormed the Shiva
shrine in Kathmandu and replaced the Indian chief priest,
Mahabaleshwar Shastri, with a Nepalese national.
"The Bhattas have been performing puja in the Pashupati temple since
time immemorial. My humble request to the Nepal government is that
they should not mix up politics and God. Please do not break an
age-old tradition," said Narasimha Adiga, a Bhatta community leader
who is the chief priest of the Kolloor Mookambika temple in Karnataka.
Nationality should not be a criterion while appointing priests, Adiga
said. They should be assigned the duty after assessing whether they
have the required knowledge to conduct the ritualistic worship.
There are several stories on how the Bhattas came to be the priests in
the Pashupatinath temple.
One account connects the community with the Shankaracharya in the
sixth century. The Shankaracharya had gone to Pashupatinath on a
pilgrimage and found the temple had no priests. He sent for Brahmins
from the southern India community to look after the temple. The story
goes that the Shankaracharya himself served as a priest for a while
there.
Another version says the Indian priests were appointed by a Nepal king
in the 17th century to make sure that Pashupatinath was worshipped
even during the period of official mourning after a monarch's death.
According to Nepali custom, all religious services had to stop for a
year after a king's death. As Pashupatinath was to be worshipped every
day, Indian priests were deputed.
Another version says Indian priests were considered to have superior
knowledge of the scriptures.
According to community leader Parameswara Adiga, the Bhattas who went
to Nepal still maintain close links with those in India. "For every
major event in the community, they would come. The Bhattas who have
gone to Nepal always come back for marriages. Recently, there was one
such marriage," Parameswara Adiga said.
He says the Bhattas who have gone to Nepal as priests always come back
to their native village once their stint is over.
One of the best known among the Bhatta priests in Nepal was Raval
Padmanabha Shastri Adiga, who served the Pashupatinath temple from
1955 till his retirement in 1993.
Appointed chief priest in 1967, he started the practice of using
temple funds for local development.
From: sri
To:
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090105/jsp/frontpage/story_10344209.jsp
Kathmandu ripples in Karnataka
CITHARA PAUL
Newly appointed Pashupatinath priests Bishnu Prasad Dahal (right) and
Saligram Dhakal at the temple on January 1. (AFP)
New Delhi, Jan. 4: The Pashupatinath priest row in faraway Nepal has a
Brahmin community from Karnataka's Udupi region worried.
The Bhattas, who reside in the Karnataka-Kerala border area of Udupi,
have served as priests in the Pashupatinath temple for nearly 300
years.
Three days ago, the Maoist government's police stormed the Shiva
shrine in Kathmandu and replaced the Indian chief priest,
Mahabaleshwar Shastri, with a Nepalese national.
"The Bhattas have been performing puja in the Pashupati temple since
time immemorial. My humble request to the Nepal government is that
they should not mix up politics and God. Please do not break an
age-old tradition," said Narasimha Adiga, a Bhatta community leader
who is the chief priest of the Kolloor Mookambika temple in Karnataka.
Nationality should not be a criterion while appointing priests, Adiga
said. They should be assigned the duty after assessing whether they
have the required knowledge to conduct the ritualistic worship.
There are several stories on how the Bhattas came to be the priests in
the Pashupatinath temple.
One account connects the community with the Shankaracharya in the
sixth century. The Shankaracharya had gone to Pashupatinath on a
pilgrimage and found the temple had no priests. He sent for Brahmins
from the southern India community to look after the temple. The story
goes that the Shankaracharya himself served as a priest for a while
there.
Another version says the Indian priests were appointed by a Nepal king
in the 17th century to make sure that Pashupatinath was worshipped
even during the period of official mourning after a monarch's death.
According to Nepali custom, all religious services had to stop for a
year after a king's death. As Pashupatinath was to be worshipped every
day, Indian priests were deputed.
Another version says Indian priests were considered to have superior
knowledge of the scriptures.
According to community leader Parameswara Adiga, the Bhattas who went
to Nepal still maintain close links with those in India. "For every
major event in the community, they would come. The Bhattas who have
gone to Nepal always come back for marriages. Recently, there was one
such marriage," Parameswara Adiga said.
He says the Bhattas who have gone to Nepal as priests always come back
to their native village once their stint is over.
One of the best known among the Bhatta priests in Nepal was Raval
Padmanabha Shastri Adiga, who served the Pashupatinath temple from
1955 till his retirement in 1993.
Appointed chief priest in 1967, he started the practice of using
temple funds for local development.
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