Mangaluru: The Sri Samputa Naraimsha Math in Dakshina Kannada is being accused of misleading devotees of the Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple nearby over the holding of rituals.
Although the Math and the temple are not administered by the same organization, they are often seen as one and the same owing to their proximity to each other. Some devotees therefore offer pooja at the Math thinking it is the same as offering it at the temple "People offer sevas such as Sarpa Samksara, Naga Pratiste and Aslesha Bali at the Kukke Subrahmanya Temple. But devotees who don’t know that the Math and temple are two different entities, pay huge amounts to offer the sevas at the Math, where their vows cannot be fulfilled," says Hitarakshana Vedike secretary, T S Srinath, explaining that although the seer of the Math was one of temple’s trustees several decades ago, it did not have control of it.
"The temple has no branches. But some people in the Math are trying to say that it does and misguiding devotees,” he deplores, adding, “Our demand is that the Math should stop offering three sevas, the Sarpa Samksara, Naga Pratiste and Aslesha.”
The Hitarakshana Samithi has, meanwhile, complained to the endowments department and plans to bring the matter to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner of DK as well. But the Kukke Kshetra Bhakthara Hitarakshana Samithi’s honorary advisor, Bhaskar Bendodi, says the entire affair is a ploy against the Math. "This is a ploy by a few people who are against the existence of the Math in Kukke,” he charges, adding that there are documents to prove that the temple and Math have a close bond.
Responding to the row, temple committee chief, Nityananda Mundodi says, "We have issued advertisements and displayed messages in the grounds of the temple that the sevas offered in the Math have no connection with the temple.”
