Palamur Shani temple allows women to worship

Mahbubnagar: The Sri Nandiswara Shaneswara Temple in Nandiwaddeman village of Bijnepalli mandal is unique in the South in several aspects. It is the only one with Sri Jyeshta Devi Sameta Shaneswara idol, which is about 7.5 ft tall. This is the lone such temple to allow women to offer worship, as against the one at Shani Shinganapur in Maharashtra. There was controversy recently when women were not allowed to enter this temple, leading to protest by many women activists.

The Nandiwaddeman temple, located at about 110 km from Hyderabad, is also known for attracting about 15,000 devotees from Karnataka, Maharashtra besides Andhra Pradesh on the day of Shani Trayodasi, when both women and men can worship the deity. Pilgrims believe that if they pray they would be rid of woes and losses, said Seeta, a devotee from Jadcharla.

The 7.5 ft high Shaneswara idol was sculpted 17 years back by a sculptor, Subbarayudu, in seven and half weeks, with devotion without crossing the village outskirts. Since then devotees have been making a beeline to the shrine every Saturday.

They have to wear black dress (which is given on hire along with pooja material) for offering worship. They have to take bath and enter the temple with wet clothes and offer ‘tailabhishekam’ to the idol. They have to again bathe, wear fresh dress to pray in adjoining Shiva temple.

Temple’s Chief Archaka Viswanadha Sarma told The Hans India that free meals and other facilities were being provided to the devotees every Saturday and on Shani Trayodasi. There was a good gathering of pilgrims since morning on February 6.