Goodbye ‘salaam’, Karnataka temples to ring in ‘Sandhya Aarati’ soon

BENGALURU/MANGALURU: “Salaam Aarati” will become “Sandhya Aarati” in all Karnataka temples with the state’s highest body overseeing Hindu shrines on Saturday approving a six-month-old proposal to rename the Persian-sounding tradition harking back to Tipu Sultan’s reign with Sanskrit terms.
Kashekodi Sooryanarayana Bhat, scholar and member of Dharmika Parishat or State Religious Council, had earlier said these names were “imposed” on Hindu temples during Tipu’s reign, pointing out that “the word ‘Salaam’ does not belong to us”.
The Mandya district administration in the BJP-governed state had submitted the renaming proposal received from the historic Chaluvanarayana Swamy temple in Melkote to the Parishat.
The Melkote temple had been holding “Salaam Aarati (Torch Salute)” every day at 7pm since the reign of Hyder Ali and son Tipu.
Following Saturday’s move, the state’s Hindu religious institutions and charitable endowments department (muzrai) will soon issue an official order renaming the “Aarati” services not just at Melkote but across all temples in Karnataka after getting the final clearance from CM Basavaraj Bommai, muzrai minister Shashikala Jolle said after the move.
“There were proposals and demands to change these Persian names and retain traditional Sanskrit names like Mangalarati Namaskara or Aarati Namaskara. Going by history, we have brought back what was previously in practice,” Jolle said.