Chennai: Temples told to conduct spl poojas to appease rain god

Chennai: The State HR & CE department has issued a circular to all the major temples in Tamil Nadu to carry out special prayers to propitiate the rain god. The circular signed by the department commissioner Phanindra Reddy has also named specific temples for conducting exclusive prayers for the purpose.

“Seedhala Kumbal, Rudhraabhishekam, Maha Vishnu puja, Varuna Gayathri, Manthra Parayanam should be performed. Special abhishekam of milk, curd and tender coconut should be conducted for Mariamman. All Regional Assistant Commissioners should send the list to the Commissioner's office on the dates that the poojas are to be held, in the respective districts, by May 2,” the circular dated April 26, read.

The commissioner also advised the officials to have a water tank constructed near the Nandi idol in Lord Shiva temples and collect water after performing pooja and abhishekam to Nandi idol. “Worship should be done by playing nadhaswaram, violin, flute, veena and playing Carnatic ragas like Amirtravarshini, Megavarshini, Kedhari, Ananda Bhairavi and Rupa Kalyani which are believed to bring rains,” the circular said.

This is not the first time the State HR & CE department has asked the temples to perform special poojas to invoke the rain god. Whenever Tamil Nadu reeled under drought or faced acute water scarcity due to the failure of the monsoons, the department had directed the temples to perform pooja on a particular day.

Renowned temples across Tamil Nadu such as the Sri Kapaleshwar temple, Sri Parthasarathy Swamy temple, Marundeshwar temple in the city besides Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple in Madurai, Sri Kamakshi temple, Kancheepuram and Sri Bhagawathy Amman temple, Kanyakumari, have in the past invoked the god by conducting Varuna Jepa Yagam. A special abhishekam was performed for Nandi idols.

Temples in other parts of the State including Sri Nellaiyappar Gandhimathi Ambal Temple in Tirunelveli, Sri Kutralanatha Swamy Temple, Courtallam, Sri Papanasa Swamy Temple, Papanasam, Sri Sankaranaraya Swamy Temple, Sankarankovil, Sri Kasi Viswanathar Temple, Tenkasi, Sri Kumarar Temple, Ilanji, and Sri Brihadeeswarar Temple too had joined the State-wide movement to assuage the problems of the people.

Meanwhile, Paramahams Sri Bharadwaj Swamy, pontiff of the Yohamaya Sri Bhuvaneswari Peetam, here, too has been performing a series of yagams on his own, seeking the divine blessings for bounteous rains. “People should join the noble initiative by chanting the names of the gods and goddesses. There should be a collective responsibility not only in praying for copious rains but also in conserving the water resources,” he said.