Spiti temple doors opened despite ban, say residents

Tribune News Service

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Mandi, June 23

Despite government ban on opening of temples for devotees across the state in the wake of the Covid pandemic, the doors of the Triloknath temple were opened for devotees in tribal district of Lahaul Spiti for the past few days.

Sources told The Tribune that for the past few days, the doors of the Triloknath temple were opened by the temple committee for local devotees, who had started to arrive on the premises to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva.

Triloknath temple is the abode of Lord Shiva in the tribal district of Lahaul Spiti, where a large number of devotees visit every year from different parts of the country to pay obeisance to Lord Shiva.

The holy shrine is revered equally by the Hindus and the Buddhists. Hindus consider Triloknath deity as Lord Shiva, while the Buddhists consider the deity as Arya Avalokiteshvara.

In view of the Covid threat, the state government had not taken any decision to open temples of the state for religious activities.

In Lahaul Spiti, till date no Covid case was reported, which is a relief for the district administration and people of the area.

Budhi Chand, a resident of Lahaul Spiti, said for the past few days, the doors of Triloknath temple were seen opened for local devotees. However, today the doors of the temple were found closed.

KK Saroch, Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul Spiti, said, “Till now, doors of all temples were closed for religious activities in the district. However, I have asked the subdivisional magistrate of Udaipur to look into the matter if there was any violation on the temple premises.”