‘No festivals in Saraswat temples till December 20’

MARGAO: No religious festival will be celebrated nor will mass congregation for any type of ritual be permitted at any of the temples of the Saraswat samaj until December. An order to this effect has been issued by Shrimad Vidyadheeraj Teerth Shripad Vader Swami, the chief pontiff of Gokarn Jeevottam Mutt at Partagal, Canacona.
President of the central committee of the Mutt, Shrinivas Dempo, has urged all temple committees affiliated to the mutt to strictly adhere to the order of the mutt’s dharma mandal and follow guidelines issued by it.
The guidelines state that Vaikunth Chaturdashi and poornima of the Kartik month may be held in the Krishna Paksha of Margshirsh.
The bhajans generally held on Ashadh Shukla Ekadashi be now held in the Kartik month of the Hindu calendar. The popular pushpa pooja of Shravan stands cancelled.
Ganesh Chaturthi which falls in Bhadrapad, the mandal guidelines said, will now be celebrated on Magh Shukla Chaturthi (Ganesh Chaturthi day) and that Anantchaturdashi will be observed in Kartik or Margashirsh. The shastras have provided for such rescheduling of events, guidelines stated.
While all kuldevasthans’ ‘makarotsav’ held during Navratri have been cancelled, yagna sadhana and other rituals associated with Navratri will be allowed to be conducted in Falgun.
While other rituals will be restricted to poojas only, celebrations associated with Somar, Shukrar, Panchami, Navami, and Amavasya will not be held even within the temple precincts.
The dharma mandal guidelines stipulate that instead of Annasantarpan (mass serving of meals), only panchakhadya naivadya be distributed.
“If at all, a religious festival needs to be conducted as a public event, no more than 5-6 people, priests including, shall be allowed inside the temple,” the guidelines stated.