Udupi : Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Saturday appealed to the government to stop ‘Salam Mangalarati’ being performed in the name of erstwhile Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan at Kollur Mookambika Temple.

Sharan Pumpwell, VHP divisional secretary, and others have submitted memoranda to Kollur Mookambika Temple administrative committee, Muzrai minister, deputy commissioner and commissioner of religious endowment department seeking them to end Salam Mangalarati ritual.

Kollur Mookambika temple is one among 108 Shakthi Peetas across the country. It is believed that Sri Adi Shankara himself had installed the idol of the presiding deity in the temple. The offering of mangalarati in the name of Tipu (at 8 pm daily) has affected the temple’s sanctity. It is not right to conduct such a ritual in the name of Tipu who was anti-Hindu and had demolished temples, the VHP said in the memorandum.

“Salam Mangalarati is also a symbol of slavery. The endowment department and administrative committee of the temple should take steps to remove the word ‘salam’ and take up mahamangalarati in the name of God at the designated time,” the Parishad urged.

Meanwhile, a former dharmadarshi of Kollur Temple has denied the existence of ‘Salam Mangalarati.’

“It is actually known as ‘Thurthu Mangalarati,’ and it comes before mahamangalarati. But some people refer to it as ‘Salam Mangalarati.’ Tipu is a fanatical ruler, and he had no intention of favouring any spiritual service to the Goddess,” he told DH.

Temple’s Executive Officer(EO) Mahesh said the phrase, ‘Salam Mangalarathi’, is not mentioned anywhere in the temple’s ritual calendar. Every day, from 7.15 pm to 8 pm, a ritual known as ‘Pradosha Puja’ is performed, which is even mentioned in the temple’s official document,’ he said.

‘Salam Mangalarati’ is a ritual performed in the temple to commemorate the visit of Tipu Sultan to the temple in 1763. But there is no documentary evidence throwing light on Tipu’s visit to the temple nor any pictorial depictions in the temple. The only available proof of his visit to the temple is the ritual of Salam Mangalarati.