Nude Aiyyappa devotees rile women groups in Karnataka
The four youths are performing 'Bethhale Seve' (nude service) since the last four weeks.
Hubballi: In a strange incident, a group of Aiyyappa devotees have been involved in nude worship to appease the God in Madakihonnalli village of Kalghatagi near here.
The four youths are performing 'Bethhale Seve' (nude service) since the last four weeks. They claimed that the pooja will continue for 48 days before they visit Sabarimala temple in Kerala. But, this has angered many people in the village especially woman who oppose the practice and term it as a mere superstition that leaves them embarrassed.
The four youth are staying in a mud hut in a corner of a field and have been performing various religious rituals including chanting. They hail from villages in Mundgod, Haliyal, Navalgund and Dharwad taluks. They have been eating food from clay pots and are sitting on a banana leaf throughout the day holding 'Rudrakshi' and chanting the name of God.
The youth claimed that the practice is a religious ritual to pay obeisance to Lord Aiyappa and is not performed anywhere else. Giving a mythological touch to the practice, the devotees claimed Lord Aiyappa was found in a jungle in the same manner and hence, this ritual.