Breaking an age-old tradition, a woman entered into the sanctom sanctorum of the famous Shani temple in Shingnapur of Ahmednagar district, and offered prayer on Saturday. This resulted in strong protests from villagers who later conducted a “milk abhishek” to purify the idol. However, many politicians and social activists lauded the act and called it “revolutionary”.
An unidentified woman jumped over the barricade and touched the idol before disappearing into the large crowd gathered everyday. Lord Shani is considered to be the ruling deity of Shingnapur, a small town of 4000 people, in Maharashtra. Interestingly, the twon has no house with a door, not even the police station. People believe here that the deity will punish anyone involved in theft and robberies.
“It’s a long-held tradition at our village that women are allowed only till few meters from the Shani idol. We have never prevented women from offering prayers but they are not allowed on the platform (where the idol is placed),” said Sayram Bankar, president of the temple trust.
Local tv channels reported that even women in the area also protested the incident. “Ours is a peaceful village where devotees throng in large number and follow tradition. What the woman did was not proper,” said an woman in her sixties.
The temple committee has suspended seven security personnel for the lapse.