Women entry barred into temple

Kadapa: Women are barred from entering into Anjaneya Swamy temple at Thippayapalle in Pullampet mandal. This is due to a rare custom dates back some 500 years. Men will perform the rituals like cleaning of temple and Abhishekam to presiding deity during festival days and on special occasions.

Every year, the Sunday prior to the Sankranti festival, the men from the village and neighbouring villages will arrive at temple, prepare Pongali and offer to the presiding deity as Prasadam. Till date, women are having deity’s darshan from outside the temple for well-being of the village. However, girls, who have not attained puberty, are allowed inside the temple. The villagers believe that the presiding deity is protecting them from diseases and crop loss as they are following the custom ritually.

According to villagers, an elder Brahmin arrived to this village about 500 years ago when the people were dying because of ailments and suffering crop damage due to bad weather. At that time, villagers had prayed to God to bestow his blessings on the village but there was no respite.

An elder Brahmin, who stayed in the village for one year, had carved idol of Anjaneya Swamy and installed it in the village to express his gratitude for villagers as they had providing food and shelter. However, he told villagers to follow some rituals to protect the village from evil attacks. The villagers believe that the presiding deity will go around the village on white horse every night to ward off evils.

This year also, the men in the village had prepared Pongali inside the temple on the Sunday prior to the Sankranti and celebrated the event on a grand scale. Thousands of people from surrounding villages have offered prayers to Anjaneya Swamy. Temple committee member Srinivasulu Reddy said that villagers believe that deity is protecting them from all evils.