Doing it for Lord Manjunath! ‘Auto Raja’s’ Offer Free Ride to Devotees to Kadri Temple
Mangaluru : Today at Kadri Temple is one of the biggest day of the Brahamakalashotsava of Kadri Manjunatha Temple in the city, and thousands of devotees have thronged the temple since early morning. A large number of devotees came to attend the temple to witness Brahmakalasha rituals on today, and as a part of the rituals, Kalashabhisheka was held at 7 am at the Temple. Other rituals that were held are ‘Brahmakalashabhisheka’’ (9.35 am), and special Kalashabhisheka for ancient idols and ‘Avasrutha bali’ – and in addition, ‘Manmaharathotsava’, ‘Homa’, ‘Utsava Bali’, ‘Bhootha Bali’ and other rituals.The Maha Rathotsava will be held tonight at 7 p.m.
These rituals will continue until May 10 where ‘Ganayaga’, ‘Amriteshwari Pooja’, ‘Mahadandarudrabhisheka’, ‘Maharudrayaga’ and others will be performed. As a part of Brahmakalashabhisheka, one of the devotee Krishnappa Ucchila and family members have offered a ‘Golden Kalasha’ to the temple, while Ganesh Rao and family of Karavali Group of Colleges has offered a silver ‘Kalasha’ along with golden pedestal and gold-plated conch to the temple. “The Brahma Kalashabhisheka”, “The Maha Danda Rudrabhisheka”, and “The Maha Rudra Yaga”, which is once again being conducted after a break of 12 years, and started on May 2 will culminate on May 11 this time. Last time the rituals were conducted in 2006 in the presence of Sri Sri Raja Sandhyanatha, head of the Kadri Jogi (Yogishwar) Mutt.
Since the celebrations which began on 2 May, various religious rituals, namely, Torana Mahurta, Ugrana Mahurta, Punyaha, Rakshoghna Homa etc., have been performed. Cultural programmes, including Bharatanatyam, Nagaswara recital, and Yakshagana were held on 2 May. There have been similar religious and cultural programmes till May 11 to mark the celebrations. A group of volunteers from Sri Patanjali Yoga Shikshana Samithi have been working hard to ensure the cleanliness of the temple during the Brahmakalashotsava at Kadri Temple from the beginning of the celebrations. The Samithi has 153 branches in Dakshina Kannada with over 5,000 volunteers. The members from three branches have divided the work on cleanliness and sanitation at the Kadri temple. Teams of volunteers take up cleanliness work after the breakfast, lunch, evening snacks and dinner. Further, placards urging the devotees not to waste food has been placed near the dining hall by the committee members. Along with cleanliness, the volunteers are also engaged in serving food to the devotees. More than 15,000 people have food daily in the temple from morning till evening.
Another service provided for the devotees who attend the celebrations today is that over 100 auto- rickshaws drivers have come forward to offer unique free ride to the devotees from KPT Junction, Bunts Hostel and Mallikatte to the Kadri Temple. In return, the devotees will also be ferried from the Kadri Temple to the nearest bus stand, in order to board their buses to their respective destinations. This FREE service is the courtesy of Vishwa Hindu Parishat-Bajrang Dal Auto Drivers and Owners, Mangaluru unit, to the devotees attending Brahmakalasha rituals of Kadri Manjunatha Temple on Today (Thursday) from 10 am to 4 pm.
Ramesh, a auto-rickshaw driver at the Bunts Hostel stand speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “Since 10.30 am until 2 pm , I have given ride to nearly 80 families who were going to attend the celebrations at Kadri temple. We are doing this service to the Lord Manjunath, and we feel blessed by doing such kind service to the devotees of Lord Manjunath. The service will continue until 4 pm, and may be beyond that, depending on whether our service is needed by the devotees.
