Minister for Higher Education V.S. Acharya said on Saturday that it was not possible to ban the ritual of “made snana” followed in Kukke Subrahmanya as a large number of people believed in it.
He was speaking at the valedictory of the one-day “Tulunadu Daivaradhakara Sammelan” titled “Kodiyadi” at Alevoor near here.
Dr. Acharya said that some groups and politicians were demanding a ban on “Made Snana”. “They are speaking as if we have started the ritual of “Made Snana”. But it had been prevalent for a long time,” he said.
He said the seer of Sode Math Sri Vadiraja (1480-1600) had in his work “Tirtha Prabhanda” made a reference to “Made Snana” at Subrahmanya. This meant that “Made Snana” had been prevalent before his time. Hence it was not possible to ban “Made Snana” all of a sudden.
It was not right to question beliefs. “Bhotardhane”, “Nagaradhe” and “Prakarti Aradhane” rituals were unique to the people of Tulunadu. The Government would consider the demand for giving pensions to artistes of “Bhootaradhne” ritual, he said.
