Mahabaleshwar temple administration implements a conventional dress code, bans wearing shirt, pant, hat, cap and coat in the Gokarna temple, Karnataka.
Bengaluru: Mahabaleshwar temple administration has introduced a conventional dress code in the temple banning jeans trousers and shorts in the premises. The said temple is a popular pilgrimage in Gokarna, Karntaka.
The executive officer of Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple H Halappa confirmed that the implementation of dress code has come into existence from last month. The ban includes shirt, pant, hat, cap and coat in the Gokarna temple.
The new regulation introduced by the temple administration states that men can only enter the temple with dotis. Vests and t-shirts are not permissible and women are allowed only in salwar suit and saree. The Mahabaleshwar temple in Gokarna was built by Mayur Sharma of Kadamba dynasty in 4th century AD.
Considered as one of the seven Muktikshetras or Muktistalas (places of salvation) in Karnataka, its location near the Karwar beach facing the Arabian Sea has made it a tourist's delight.
The dress code order is widely resisted by a large group of devotees. The former administrator of the Ramachandrapura Mutt near the Gokarna temple GK Hegde said, “Such rules will trouble the visitors as Gokarna also happens to be a major tourist destination. The dress code was only for men that they should not enter the temple wearing shirts and without taking bath. Initially, there was no restriction for women. Now dress code should have been introduced after discussing with the devotees and temple priests who have been performing rituals for ages.”
A similar restriction is in the offing at Virupaksha temple in Hampi, sources in the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment department said.
The Virupaksha temple is among the oldest temples where the rituals have been going on since 7th century AD without break
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