The Bharatiya Janata Party Government has denotified the Prasanna Sri Subramanya temple at Ramanathapura in Arkalgud taluk and handed it over to Sri Samputa Narasimha Math at Subramanya in Dakshina Kannada district.
The Government issued an order to this effect on August 16 and it was published in the State gazette dated November 3.
The 17th century temple that was under the control of the Muzrai Department is now in the hands of the math from the Dwaitha tradition of the Madhwa sect.
Request from the math
The temple, which attracts thousands during the rathotsava in November or December, was notified under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Act, 1997 in April 2003.
According to the gazette, the Government's decision to denotify the temple was based on a request from the Sri Samputa Narasimha Math and a report from the Arkalgud tahsildar.
The math claimed the temple was built by its 14th pontiff, Vibhudesha Tirtha, in the 17th century and had been in its control since. A copper plate inscription in its possession supported this claim, the Government Order says.
Although the tahsildar found no record to substantiate the claim that the temple was allotted to the math, the temple has been looked after by the math since olden days, he reported. Besides, the order adds, the tahsildar's report notes the appointment of a supervisor ( parupattedara ) to the temple made by the math in 1985.
Considering these observations, the commissioner of the Muzrai Department ordered the denotification of the temple.
‘Mistake rectified'
Vidya Prasanna Tirtha, present pontiff of math, told The Hindu over phone that the temple had been under the management of his math for centuries. However, the State Government had erroneously notified it.
“All these years, the math made appointments to the temple and conducted religious programmes. The temple was under the Muzrai Department only on record for the past few years,” he said.
He said the temple was notified along with other temples in Ramanathapura by mistake. While the Agasthyeshwara and Rameshwara temples in Ramanthapura are under the department, the Prasanna Sri Subramanya temple belongs to the math.
“We appealed to the Government to rectify the mistake. The Government responded positively,” he said.
