Praying outside temple will not reach the god, says the richest temple in Karnataka

A Karnataka temple in a public notice has warned devotees and said that the ‘sevas’ or rituals done outside the temple will not reach the gods or bring any fruits to then.

Kukke Shree Subrahmanya Temple in Dakshina Kannada district released the advisory as it learnt that some vested interests were exploiting the situation to garner monetary benefits by misguiding the devotee to perform the said sevas outside the Kukke Shree Subrahmanya Temple premises.

“Any sevas performed outside the temple will be purely privet, unauthentic and will neither reach Lord Subrahmanya nor deliver the goods intended. Further it will be a fraud and negation of the tradition of the Kshethra,” the temple said.

The age-old temple asserted that it had no branch. “The temple administration categorically avers that Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple has no branches locally or anywhere in the country,” it said.

Lord Subrahmanya is the main deity of Kukke Subrahmanya Temple. Kukke Subrahmanya is the abode of nagas. Here pooja is offered to Lord Subrahmanya merged with serpent king Vasuki. Hence, believed to be the ultimate solace for salvation from any sort of naga doshas.

The temple is said to be the richest in Karnataka with Rs 96 crore annual income. Sevas done in the temple forms the largest chunk of its revenue. Some of the sevas have a waiting list.

Among the high profile devotees of the temple include cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Javagal Srinath, Ravi Shastri, Venkatesh Prasad as well as actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty and Juhi Chawla.