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Pashupatinath Stalemate
VHP opposes removal of Indian priests
Shubhadeep Choudhury
Tribune News Service

Bangalore, January 5
The Nepalese Maoist gove rnment’s step to replace Indian origin priests of Kathmandu’s famous Pashupatinath temple by Nepalese priests has created ripples in faraway Karnataka.

The dislodged Indian origin chief priest, who has been ousted with his assistants, has roots in Karnataka. “From ages, Brahmins from the Kota and Salagram villages of Udupi district are conducting the puja at the Pashupatinath temple. They were also the rajpurohits of Nepal and used to bless the king. Those, who have removed them, will certainly face the music,” B N Murthy, Karnataka Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP) president, said.

He said the appointment of the priests of Pashupatinath temple in Nepal had the sanction of the Shringeri Mutt of Karnataka. The Mutt was founded by the Adi Shankaracharya. “The Maoist government in Nepal is not interested in respecting such traditions,” Murthy said.

He said plenty of people in Nepal were opposing the step by the government. “Any right is needed to be exercised with restraint and with an eye to the sentiments of people. This has not been done by the Nepalese government,” the VHP chief said. He added that the step had been taken by the Nepalese government to “drive a wedge between the Indian origin priests and the Nepalese clergy in the Pashupatinath temple and also between India and Nepal.”

Sadhu Rangarajan, associated with the Bharatmata Ashram in Bangalore, said what happened in Pashupatinath temple was a “very sad incident”.

Rangarajan said the Adi Shankaracharya had installed the Namboodiris living in the south of India as the priests of the Pashupatinath temple in the Himalayan country.

“Whereas Brahmins from south India perform as priests in the Pashupatinath temple, the king of Nepal is accorded the post of president of the body that looks after the temple at Rameswaram. The Maoist government’s action against the Indian priests is against this traditional tie,” Rangarajan said.

Karnataka has a strong community of Shaivites (worshippers of Shiva) and this gives the issue an important dimension. It was the VHP chief who touched upon this factor. “The Karnataka origin priest and his assistants had been removed from a temple where the reigning deity was Shiva,” he said.

Will honour SC order: Nepal PM
Bishnu Budhathoki
Tribune News Service

Kathmandu, January 5
Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda today assured Indian leaders that the Maoist-led government would honour the verdict of the country's Supreme Court and allow Indian priests to "perform their duty" at the Pashupatinath Temple.

Prachanda gave this assurance when Samajwadi Party president and former UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and party general secretary Amar Singh met him here and expressed concern over sacking of the Indian priests. They also discussed other latest political developments and bilateral issues concerning both the nations.

Notably, the Supreme Court had on Thursday asked the government and Pashupatinath Area Development Trust (PADT) to ensure that the newly appointed Nepalese priests did not perform ‘puja’ at the temple till the apex court’s final verdict on the issue was out.

Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Yadav said: “Prime Minister Prachanda has assured me that his government will honour the verdict of the Supreme Court and allow the Indian Priests to perform their duty.”

Yadav said that he had suggested to Prachanda not to get into any controversy in the matters of religion and faith of the people.

"We had also come here to visit the Pashupatinath temple, which we could not fulfill due to the dispute, and it is a very sad experience,” he said. Meanwhile, the PADT has issued prohibitory orders in the surrounding area of Pashupatinath temple to avoid any untoward incident.