The New Widow Priestesses

Dressed in full-sleeved blouses and saris, vermillion on their foreheads and jasmine flowers in their braids, two widows formally broke a social barrier when they performed priestly rituals at the Kudroli Gokarnatheshwara temple in Mangalore last Sunday. Lakshmi Shanti and Indira Shanti, in their early thirties and mid-forties respectively, were led in a procession to the temple to begin their new duties as archaks. The women invoked the blessing of other deities before entering the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva. They also installed a marble Dattatreya idol.

Dressed in full-sleeved blouses and saris, vermillion on their foreheads and jasmine flowers in their braids, two widows formally broke a social barrier when they performed priestly rituals at the Kudroli Gokarnatheshwara temple in Mangalore last Sunday. Lakshmi Shanti and Indira Shanti, in their early thirties and mid-forties respectively, were led in a procession to the temple to begin their new duties as archaks. The women invoked the blessing of other deities before entering the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Shiva. They also installed a marble Dattatreya idol. A large gathering, led by former Union minister Janardhan Poojary, was present as the new priestesses performed aarti. One of them is a gram panchayat member who was planning to resign, said Poojary while refusing to reveal the background of the two, who hail from nearby villages. The women have Shanti suffixed to their names as is the temple tradition here whenever new male priests are appointed. “We decided to follow the same tradition in the case of these women too,” said an administrator, adding that they would be employed full-time

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Anil Budur Lulla