Khammam: Changing ritual angers devotees

Khammam: The devotees of Nagaram in Paloncha Mandal, who visited the Rama temple at Bhadrachalam for the divine wedding, raised two objections pertaining to the manner in which the Kalyanam was conducted.

About 1,000 devotees from Nagaram walked the 28-km distance to the temple town barefoot, chanting ‘Srirama’ in unison. They said they were distressed to hear the chanting of Lord Rama’s name as ‘Ramanarayana’ without his ‘Pravara’ (Vamsah Vruksham) at the Bhadrachalam temple.

Pundits explained that Lord Rama in Bhadradri had no father because He was nothing but a reincarnation of Vishnu. They said Lord Rama’s father was Rama himself and not anyone else.

The devotees of Nagaram objected to this logic of the pundits. A devotee, Mr K. Parthasarathy, said, “The priests and officials have violated the traditions and conventions of the Bhadradri temple by chanting ‘Ramanarayana’ instead of ‘Rama’.

The devotees who stood near the Mithila stadium and discussed the change in the ritual and other devotees, who had visited from various other places, extended their solidarity on the issue. They argued that the officials who took the decision to change the tradition did not consider the sentiments of the devotees.

In protest, Mr B. Sankar Reddy, a local, conducted the Sri Rama Navami at another location as per the age-old tradition by chanting the Rama ‘Pravara’ (Vamsah Vruksham). He said, “I performed the divine wedding in protest against the changing rituals.”

This distress caused by the change in tradition turned into a major issue and later spread to other parts as well. Mr R. Narsing Rao, a devotee of Paloncha, said that temple rituals were being changed by some seers.