A proposal requiring men to wear dhoti-kurta and women to be dressed in saree during ‘darshan’ is pending
BI News, Varanasi : The Kashi Vishwanath temple trust will deliberate on a proposal for a dress code for pilgrims at its next meeting, its chairman Nagendra Pandey said on Saturday. He noted that it was a ”complicated issue” and they need to bear in mind the sentiments of various sections and the ”practicality” of implementing the proposal.
Pandey said the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Nyas will study how dress codes have been enforced in other temples in the country. ”There has been a demand from local people, devotees and also from members of the media that there should be a dress code in the Kashi Vishwanath temple and this issue will come up for discussion during the meeting of the Nyas likely to be held in November,” Nyas chairman Nagendra Pandey told this correspondent.
A proposal requiring men to wear dhoti-kurta and women to be dressed in saree during ‘darshan’ in the sanctum sanctorum will be deliberated upon during the meeting, Pandey said.
आज दिनाँक 28-10-2023 को श्री काशी विश्वनाथ मंदिर में मध्याह्न (दोपहर) भोग आरती के भव्य दर्शन।#ShriKashiVishwanath #Shiv #Mahadev #Baba #Temple #Darshan #Blessings #BhogAarti #Varanasi #Aarti #Kashi #Jyotirlinga #VishwanathDham pic.twitter.com/c29M3OPMNl
— Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust (@ShriVishwanath) October 28, 2023
”In the recent past, there has been a heavy flow of pilgrims… and a demand has started emerging that a dress code like those in other prominent temples of the country be imposed here, but we have to think about the practicality of the matter as well,” he said.
Meri Maati Mera Desh’ initiative has unified the country: Giriraj Singh
Pandey said, ”Those who have been to Tirupati temple as well as Meenakshi and Ujjain temples, they come here and discuss it (need for dress code). This matter is coming to us from different areas and we will see what decision we (temple trust) can take unanimously.” ”We will also study how it is being enforced in other temples of the country. We have to see that those visiting are decently dressed,” he said.
”People come from far-off places with complete devotion and queue up for darshan. They cannot be stopped, harming their religious sentiments, or forced to buy new clothes and arrange changing rooms. ”This is a very complicated issue and is not an easy one,” he stressed.
”As of now, there is no problem with those coming from villages and other areas. Only a few having modern leanings coming from metropolitan cities can be those whose way of dressing could be of some problem.
”We expect from the people that they come properly and decently attired, be it from the country or abroad. As of now there is no dress code enforced on those coming here,” he said.
