Coimbatore: In these trying times of the second COVID-19 wave, everyone is doing their best to eliminate further spread and loss of lives. Governments imposed lockdown and other restrictions and people are preferring staying among others.
But, a temple in Tamil Nadu took a different route.
Kamatchipuram Adhinam temple in Coimbatore has decided to create and consecrate ‘Corona Devi’, a deity consigned to protect the citizens of India from COVID-19.
In Tamil Nadu and other south Indian states, it is known to be a ritual to create a deity who will defeat the outbreaks and bring safety and peace to the people. There are many such incidental deities to fight against deadly pandemics before like the Plague Mariamman Temple in Coimbatore.
Sivalingeswarar, an authority incharge of the Adhinam temple, stated that it has been a practice to create deities to protect people from plagues and diseases.
Therefore in the temple of Kamatchipuram Adhinam, where a granite idol is in place, they conduct special prayers for 48 days. Maha Yagam, during which people will not be allowed to visit the temple to offer prayers. Corona Devi is a black stone idol and weighs 1.5kg.
This is the second shrine to come up for ‘Corona Devi’ in South India. In June last, a temple priest from Kadakal in Kollam district in Kerala had installed the idol of the deity in a makeshift shrine attached to his house to ward off the fear of the virus.
Last week, the Tamil Nadu government intensified the lockdown in the state by announcing stricter actions to contain the spread of this deadly virus. Under the fresh lockdown norms, only shops that provide daily needs products like groceries, vegetables, meat and fish will be allowed to operate from 6 am to 10 am.