Udayasthama Pooja

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KERALA NEWS (17TH AUGUST’06)

Guruvayur temple cuts waiting period for special puja

1 Hour,58 minutes Ago

Guruvayur (Kerala), In good news for all devotees of the Sri Krishna Temple at Guruvayur, the temple authorities have decided to slash the waiting period for an important puja ritual that has been booked for the next 43 years.

The Udayaasthamana Puja, a much-in-demand ritual performed for the fulfilment of wishes, is fully booked till 2049. Currently, the temple is performing the puja that was booked way back in 1992.

The dawn-to-dusk ritual costs the devotee Rs.50,000. According to rules in the temple, said to be hundreds of years old, the ritual can be performed only 110 times a year.

 

While for a normal puja there are 27 different rituals, the Udayaasthamana Puja involves an additional 18 rituals. It begins at 7 a.m. and goes on till evening. A closing ritual is performed in the evening of the following day.

 

According to temple authorities, the pujas booked till 2049 would now be cleared in less than 5 years.

 

" At our meeting on Wednesday we decided to increase the frequency of the puja so as to cut down the waiting period. The new rule would become effective from January 1, 2007, " temple administrator K. Anilkumar told IANS.

 

" In accordance with our new decision, we would perform 80 of the pujas in a month and 800 in a year. These pujas are done only on Tuesdays and Fridays. Many of our devotees had demanded this (slashing the waiting period) as many who book the puja die before they can witness it, " he added.

 

However, not everyone is happy with the decision.

The temple priest or thantri, Chenas Raman Namboothiripad, said the decision was taken without his concurrence.

Anilkumar denies it.

 

" This puja is just an offering and the thantri is nothing but an ex-officio member of the temple committee. It is strange that he never raised any dissent at the meeting. If he had dissented with the decision then it would have been recorded in the minutes. He has voiced his dissent outside the meeting, " said the administrator.

 

Increasing numbers of devotees are arriving at the Guruvayur temple in Thrissur district, around 300 km from Thiruvananthapuram, and the hundi collections have been going up.

 

Collections have increased from Rs.6.5 million a month five years ago to more than Rs.10 million now.

The number of devotees arriving on special days has crossed 100,000 and on normal days the number is close to 30,000.

Suresh