Mysuru: Minister for Transport and Muzrai R. Ramalinga Reddy said that measures have been taken for the development of temples.

He was speaking after inaugurating the ‘Aagama Ghatikotsava-2025’, a convocation organised under the joint aegis of Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department and Karnataka Rajya Aagama Shikshana Mattu Pareeksha Samiti at Jaganmohan Palace here recently.

Noting that the Aagama Ghatikotsava has not been held for the past 18 years, with the last one held in 2007, Ramalinga Reddy said he has directed for distribution of certificates to all the qualified students in the next three months.

Highlighting the initiatives taken by the department for the welfare of priests, the Minister said that all elderly citizens aged above 65 years are allowed queue free entry to temples. This apart, arrangements have been made  for 1,200 priests to visit religious places across the country and measures have been taken for carrying out a survey of temple properties in order to clear any encroachments.

Yadugiri Yatiraj Mutt seer Narayana Jeeyar, who graced the occasion, said that the religious endowments department is like a soul for the entire state. Maintaining that Ramanujacharya renovated as many as 22,000 temples, he lauded the department for ensuring the welfare of priests. Pointing out that Mysuru is called as the cultural capital of the State, he recalled his college days when he studied at Maharaja Sanskrit college, Mysuru.

The Department Commissioner Dr. M.V. Venkatesh said that about 2,000 students are being issued certificates for students who studied Aagama courses since 2019. The department will take measures for distributing certificates to the rest 10,000 students in another 3-4 months, he added.

Former Maharaja Sanskrit college Principal and Vijayanagar’s Yoganarasimhaswamy temple founder Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji in his Convocation address, said that Aagama science (Aagama Shastra) can make its own contributions to modern day science, as the scope of Aagama Shastra is far and wide. Stressing on the need for seeing Aagama Shastra from a scientific view point, Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji stressed on the need for translating palm leaf manuscripts to different languages. He urged the Government to establish ‘Aagama Samshodhana Samsath’, an exclusive body for Aagama Shastra research, for carrying study and research activities on a full scale.

“An ideal priest should be well versed in Lohashastra, Tantrashastra, Shilpashastra etc., as they are the ones who perform pujas and other rituals at temples. The job of a priest is also to make people understand the significance of performing pujas”, he said adding that it is satisfactory to note that the study and practise of Aagama Shastra has continued uninterrupted in the State, for which the erstwhile Mysore Royal family is mostly responsible. He also recalled that the erstwhile Mysuru rulers established the Maharaja Sanskrit College in the city 50 years before the establishment of University of Mysore. It is delightful to note that the Karnataka Government has been running this Institution in the post-independence era, he added.

Students were distributed certificates and administered the oath. Also, several Aagama scholars were feted on the occasion.

MLA T.S. Srivatsa, DC G. Lakshmikantha Reddy, Additional DC Dr. P. Shivaraj and others were present.