Hundreds throng Kukke Subrahmanya temple

A large number of devotees visited Kukke Subrahmanya owing to Shashti and Ashlesha Nakshatra on Sunday.

The devotees started arriving in the temple town from Saturday evening itself. All lodges in and around the temple are full.

As a large number of devotees had arrived in their vehicles, the parking area was also full. There was a huge queue for the registration of Ashlesha Bali Seva.

The Seva is performed thrice in the temple in a day. As Ashlesha Nakshatra (star) fell on Sunday, the demand for the ritual had increased. The devotees were standing in a long queue to register and to get receipt for the Seva from Saturday night itself.

The temple authorities start issuing receipts for the Seva daily from 6 am. Only a fixed number of sevas are performed daily in the temple due to Covid-19 guidelines. As many could not get receipt for the Ashlesha Seva, they expressed their displeasure to the temple authorities. People were seen standing in serpentine queues on the road waiting to register for the seva.

Receipts were given to 500 devotees on Sunday. As the number of devotees were more, 500 devotees were allowed to take part in the Seva while the remaining were given prasadam after ‘Sankalpa’.

Kukke Subrahmanya Temple is categorised as ‘A’ temple, the highest revenue fetching temple in the country, and has earned annual income of Rs 98.92 crore for 2019-20 (April 2019 to March 2020).

Following the Covid-19-induced lockdown, the temple remained closed from mid-March to June 7. However, the sevas commenced at Kukke Temple only on September 14.

Permission sought

Seeking permission for Brahmarathotsava Seva on Champashashthi, the devotees have submitted a memorandum to the administrator through Temple ECO Ravindra M H.

Owing to the pandemic, the district administration has imposed restriction on Brahmarathotsava seva. The devotees also urged the authorities to rectify the mistakes in the development work initiated.

This year, the Brahmarathotsava seva has been prohibited for devotees. “Brahmarathotsava seva is an offering we are giving to the God. It should not be denied to the devotees,” said some of the devotees.

The delay in the completion of the development works has caused a lot of inconvenience to the locals. The parking and other basic facilities should be provided for the devotees. The stalls selling fruits and coconut, puja items, gold and silver offerings should be opened immediately, people said.