Mangalore : The seemantha ceremony of two-year old cow Lakshmi was held at Sri Mahalingeshwara Temple, Pandeshwar in the city on Monday July 14.
Thousands of devotees witnessed for a unique ceremony of ‘Seemantha’. The cow Lakshmi is one of the cattle reared by the temple authorities and it is loved by all in the locality. The love story of Lakshmi and five-year-old Nandi of the temple culminated in a seemantha ceremony that witnessed nearly 2,000 devotees.
The cow Lakshmi was dressed with saree and was beautified with gold ornaments. The cow was brought before the idol of the temple, outside the sanctum sanctorum, for the performance of baby shower.
The temple authorities led by administrative trustee Jeevan Kumar had done everything possible with the help of donors to make the seemantha of Lakshmi a holy ritual and a memorable celebration. Women devotees served chakkuli, laddu, dosa, sweets, fruits, fodder and all food varieties of Lakshmi’s taste. Temple archak SL Ganesh Bhat led rituals as part of seemantha that ended with an arati by women.
Devotees also made Lakshmi’s better half Nandi a part of all rituals and the entire programme culminated with a lunch for 2,000 people.
Priest Ganesh Bhat said that the main objective of holding seemantha programme is to create awareness among people on preserving cattle. “It is for the first time that the temple is holding such a ritual. The message of ‘go-samrakshana’ should reach the mass and it is possible through devotees,” he said.
Jeevan Kumar said that temple does not buy milk from the market for abhishekas and other rituals. “Some devotees pointed out that milk in the market contain either water or preservatives. Hence, we thought of rearing cows and thereby offer pure milk to deities. The temple committee is holding various programmes including health check-up camp, mass marriages, helping the needy etc., for the welfare of people for the past six years. With a view to introduce something new initiative that would encourage people to spread the message of go-samrakshana,” he added.
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