Varanasi Temple Priest Puts Masks on Deities to ‘Save’ Them from Air Pollution
Thursday, November 7, 2019 IST
The incident occurred in the Shiv-Parvati temple in Sigra, Varanasi, even as air quality remained poor.
Persistently high levels of air pollution have made even the gods cover their noses up with masks. At least so is the case in Varanasi where a temple priest decided to cover the mounts of deities with masks in order to protect them from pollution.
The incident occurred at the Shiva-Parvati temple in Sigra in Varanasi where a priest of the temple decided to cover the idols of deities in cloth masks, much like the ones worn by mortals. His argument? If deities are given blankets in the winter and new clothes on festivals, why not give them a mask for pollution?
"Varanasi is a place of belief. We treat our idols as living deities and take pains to make them happy and comfortable. In summer, the idols are slathered with sandalwood paste to keep them cool and in winter, we cover them in woollens. Likewise, to save them from pollution, we have put masks on their faces," Harish Mishra, a priest at the temple told IANS.
The faces of Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, Goddess Kali and Sai Baba were covered with the masks, even as PM 2.5 levels in Varanasi remained high since Diwali.
However, covering the face of Goddess Kali proved to be more tedious. "She is an angry goddess and it is believed that her popped out tongue should not be covered," said the priest. He also said that seeingthe deities in masks had inspired many of the devotees to also put on masks.
Under the grips of severe air pollution, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday asked Lucknow administration to implement an odd-even traffic scheme (like the one implemented by Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi) at the earliest. The decision came after the Supreme Court rapped the state administration for its failure to curb stubble burning.
Images of the masked deities went viral on Twitter with many asking that if the gods are covering their face, what would happen to humans?
Related Topics
Related News & Articles
Most people tend to think that making a significant difference in a lake, river or ocean requires a lot of resources, money, time, connections, and a lot of people ...
Recently posted . 740 views . 3 min read
DUBAI: Thousands of Indians on Saturday rejoiced and participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony of the first Hindu temple in UAE's ca...
Recently posted . 628 views . 1 min read
In India, extreme weather events can quickly lead to dozens of deaths and cause economic hardship, with the World Bank estimating that environmental degradation c...
Recently posted . 740 views . 2 min read
The toxic air in Delhi worsened on Wednesday, forcing the administration to sound the alarm and announce tougher emergency measures in an attempt to reverse the tre...
Recently posted . 715 views . 2 min read
Father Kuriakose Kattuthara had claimed that there were attempts by the church to hush up the sexual assault complaint of the nun against bishop Mulakkal of Jalandh...
Recently posted . 661 views . 1 min read
Trending News & Articles
While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content.
...
Recently posted . 64K views . 1 min read
The four boys as well as five school officials, including the director and principal, were arrested after the incident. The minors were presented before the Juvenil...
Recently posted . 9K views . 1 min read
Rahul was having an Italian passport and was carrying suitcase full of dollars. Some say it was about was it $2 million.
Rahul and his girl friend was th...
Recently posted . 9K views . 7 min read
True – Tr...
Recently posted . 8K views . 83 min read
More in National
AGRA: Aligarh MP Satish Gautam, who sparked the controversy over Jinnah's portrait in AMU, is once again in news for all the wrong reasons. A...
Recently posted. 652 views . 6 min read
स्तन कैंसर के मरीजों के लिए एक अच्छी खबर है़ मुंबई स्थित टाटा मेमोरियल हॉस्पिटल के डॉक्टरों ने स्तन कैंसर के इलाज के लिए महंगी कीमोथेरैपी का बेहद सस्ता, लेकिन असर...
Recently posted. 373 views . 2 min read
The $200 billion e-commerce market Morgan Stanley is forecasting for India by 2027 just got a new contender -- with a very different plan.
&n...
Recently posted. 765 views . 2 min read
Recently posted . 479 views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 3K views . 35 min read
Recently posted . 3K views . 34 min read
There are arguments that cry hoarse about how the 37 seats have been ‘wasted’. For one, no voice will remain unheard as long as it is raised.
Recently posted. 604 views . 1 min read
A 55-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly burning the private parts of her four- year-old granddaughter with a tong in Chandigarh as she was upset at the birth...
Recently posted. 802 views . 23 min read