Acharya dismisses ritual as 'innocuous'

MANGALORE: While endowment minister V S Acharya termed the practice of `Made Snana' at Kukke Subrahmanya temple as "innocuous'', the temple administrator will seek directions from the endowment commissioner on the continuation of the practice -- which is neither endorsed by the temple nor the state.`Made Snana' is a practice of peoplerolling on plantain leaves used by Brahmins for meals, under the belief that itwill cure them of skin ailments. The devout perform this on special occasions,like the annual shashthi inside the temple premises (horangana). This year, thethree-day annual fair starts on Thursday. Acharya told The Times ofIndia that the practice was a matter of belief. "Those who believe (in thepractice) can take part in it and those who don't can stay away. Nobody canquestion the belief part," he said. When compared to other beliefs to subjugatepeople of the lower castes, Acharya retorted, "Even a sashtanga namaskara(prostrating in reverence) may be objected to by some. No harm is caused toanybody by 'Made Snana'. It's innocuous,'' he added. Putturassistant commissioner Harish Kumar says the age-old practice, rooted inreligious belief, has a lot of sentiment attached to it. "It is a sensitiveissue and cannot be dealt with by law all in a day. Neither the temple nor theadministration endorses this (practice). There is no service charge for thisseva, nor is it listed. People do it out of their own belief. Educating thedevout is the only way out," he said. Kumar said Dalit leaders had called him tostart the process of creating awareness so that the practice can be stopped in afew years' time.The AC will now write to endowment commissioner B GNandakumar, gathering people's opinion (both for and against) seeking directionson how to go about it. Interestingly, the educated too offer this `seva' withoutany qualms. The reference to this practice is found even in SkandaPurana for ridding ailments associated with `naga dosha' like leprosy and otherskin diseases believed to be the curse of the serpent god. The temple, which isa favourite with scores of celebrities, shot to fame after Master Blaster SachinTendulkar paid a visit in 2006 for his naga dosha.