‘Muni Vahana Seva’ performed in Khammam – Priest from Scheduled Caste carried on shoulders into the temple in Bhadrachalam

The unique Muni Vahana Seva ceremony was performed with fervour and devotion at the Sri Lakshmi Ranganatha Swamy temple (Ranganayakula Gutta) in Khammam on 24 February.

Temples Protection Movement (TPM) along with Samajika Samarasatha Vedika and other organisations organised this ‘Munivahana utsavam’.

The Archaka of Chilkur Balaji Temple, Shri Rangarajan, supervised the ceremony wherein Archaka of Bhadrachalam Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple Shri Krishna Chaitanya carried the Archaka of Ramachandra Banjara Shiva temple Shri Ravi, who belongs to scheduled caste, on his shoulders into the temple.

The Muni Vahana Seva is an emulation of a ceremony that was prevalent in Tamil Nadu 2700 years back. It is a ceremony that is performed in a Vaishnava temple and reflects the essence of Sanatana Dharma.

Speaking on the occasion, Sri Rangarajan said, “Acharya Ramanuja preached that everyone is equal in God’s eyes and there is no high or low. And Sant Ravidas guided people of all classes and communities in the path of Bhakti with his teachings. It is our responsibility to remove the disparities that came in between various beings in the world.”

In the present circumstances, when discrimination in the name of caste and class is rampant, the same was carried out in April 2018 for the first time after 2700 years in Hyderabad, where CS Rangarajan carried a devotee Aditya Parasri into the Ranganatha Swamy temple in Jiyaguda amid fanfare.

“The idea is to show that Sanatana Dharma treated everyone as equal before the God and the so-called discrimination crept into the system in the recent times,” Rangarajan had told the media.

Narrating his experience, Rangarajan said he had considered the Dalit devotee, Aditya Parasri, as the holy Tiruppanalwar himself when he carried him into the temple. “It is heartening that my small step had coincided with the millennial appearance celebrations of Sri Vaishnavite Savant Bhagawad Ramanuja, who had fought for a casteless and egalitarian society,” he said.

He added that the ‘Kaisika Purana’ also showed that a Brahmin surrendered before a Scheduled Tribe devotee and attained salvation. State Convenor of the Samajika Samarasta Vedia, Sri Appala Prasad also spoke on the occasion and said that people should freely mingle and attend all auspicious occasions in each other’s homes.

The programme was conducted by State Secretary Keesara Jayapal reddy, devotee Pavan, Temple head Satish, Bhajana groups and members of different social organisations participated in this programme.