Rare congregation to pacify anger of Kullu gods

BY VISHAL GULATI Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), Nov 2 : Devotees look for divine intervention to pacify the anger of gods and goddesses over not allowing them to participate in the just concluded weeklong Kullu Dussehra festivities in Himachal Pradesh amid the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.
For this, a rare congregation of deities has been called at the historical Lord Raghunath temple here on November 16 to religiously request them to forgive the mere mortals for ‘first-of its-kind’ restrictions imposed on them during the festival that dates back to 1637.
“Many deities expressed their anger for not allowing all the deities to mark their presence during the festival,” Maheshwar Singh, chief representative of Lord Raghunath, Kullu Valley’s chief deity, told IANS on Monday.
“So we have decided to invite all the gods and goddesses, whosoever is participating in the Kullu Dussehra festival, for the Jagati Puch on the Annakut festival (November 16) to pacify their anger and request them not to do any harm,” he said.
Singh, the scion of the erstwhile Kullu estate, said, “After the abolition of the princely states, the district administration has been inviting the deities for the Dussehra festival. But for religious issues, we are authorised to invite them and obey their orders.” As per tradition, events like ‘Jagati Puch’ — a grand convention of gods and goddesses — are held only in extraordinary situations.