Amid heated debate on whether Makara jyoti of Lord Ayyappa shrine is celestial or manmade, the chief priest of Sabarimala temple on Sunday said the controversy was generated only to divert attention from the tragedy that killed 102 devotees.
In narrating the Maria story, Vatsala Mendonca, in the tradition of Margaret Atwood's A Handmaiden's Tale, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street and Arundathi Roy's The God of Small Things, places the protagonist challenges within the context of class and caste and religious and, most of all, patriarchal conflicts and ultimately finds strength and hope, inspiring readers to pursue their dreams and carve their own paths.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appeared to make a pitch in the assembly for a temple where a mosque stands now in Mathura, saying that Krishna Kanhaiya wouldn't have it any other way.
The negotiations between the priests protesting against the the Synod's decision to introduce a uniform mass and a sub-committee comprising three bishops constituted by the Synod to find a way to solve the matter.
Nearly 50 years after Tamil Nadu government legalised "self-respect" marriages which are conducted without a priest the Madras High Court has upheld the amendment made in the year 1968 to simplify Hindu marriages.
The Chennai police on Friday rescued an eight- year-old girl a day after she was kidnapped by unidentified persons for a ransom of Rs 5 lakh and arrested a priest who allegedly masterminded her abduction in a bid to make money to pay off loan.
Major Archbishop and Catholicose of SMC, Baselios Mar Cleemis made the announcement regarding this at St Mary's Cathedral in Thiruvananthapuram in the presence of senior prelates, priests, religions and lay members.
Seeking clarification, Karnataka Governor has sent back to the government a bill that sought to collect funds from temples with over Rs 10 lakh annual income, citing that a case concerning the earlier related act and amendments made to it is still pending in Supreme Court.
Glimpses of flooded areas near the Taj Mahal as the Yamuna river overflowed following heavy rains, July 18, 2023.
Would you support a homosexual priest in your own community?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met the top priests of various churches in Kerala, giving a push to the Bharatiya Janata Party's efforts to reach out to the influential minority community in the southern state ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, sources said.
'I was laughing and crying at the same time. Right now, just extremely happy that she will be out and amongst us soon.'
They were strangers who met on a bus. They believe God brought them together. Shobha Warrier reports on an incredible story of kindness and giving from Kerala.
A bohemian Nepali, a south Indian priest and a mechanical engineer are bound by their mutual love for tattooing as an art form. These young men however are no longer on the margins as tattooing is being accepted in the mainstream more than ever.
Buddhist monks have demanded the arrest of the former chief priest of the Bodh Gaya Mahabodhi temple, Buddhism's holiest shrine, after recovery of ornaments and jewelry donated by devotees from his room.
The Bharatiya Janata Party vs ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam battle over live telecast of the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration in Tamil Nadu shrines reached the Supreme Court on Monday, with the apex court asking the authorities to act in accordance with the law and not based on any oral instructions.
A Ganesh Nadar meets the stunned father of Alexis Prem Kumar, the Indian Jesuit priest, who was abducted by armed gunmen in the Herat province of Afghanistan.
Narayan Prasad Pokarel, president, Nepal chapter of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, was gunned down around 0630 IST at Ram Nagar near Butwal, 300 km southwest of Kathmandu, sources in the organisation said.
Barring entry to non-Hindu devotees should be construed as 'contempt on Hindu religion' and anyone who is ready to follow the temple traditions should be allowed to worship, Bhattathiripad said.
The bill was defeated by a voice vote on February 23 in the upper house, where the Opposition has a majority, after it was passed by the assembly on February 21.
Corporations and temples have a lot in common, believes Keisuke Matsumoto, a student at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.
When Jaipur's Maharaja Madho Singh was invited to attend King Edward VII's coronation in 1902, he chartered a ship for Rs 15 lakh for the journey. He also carried 27,000 litres of Ganga jal on board. Prakash Bhandari recalls the maharaja's voyage to attend a British monarch's coronation on a day when Charles III will be crowned king at Westminster Abbey.
On the possible motive behind the murder, Prabhat said the temple was embroiled in a land dispute.
Shekar Narasimhan, a former trustee himself of the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Lanham, Maryland, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary later this year, told rediff.com that after discussions the Temple chairman, president and other trustees assured that they will do whatever to 'support this historic Diwali ceremony'.
The killer had first strangled the 40-year-old official, hacked his forehead with a sharp object and then thrust a knife on the neck.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the Tamil Nadu that his government would spare "no effort" to ensure the safe release of Indian priest Alexis Prem Kumar, who was abducted in Afganistan last week.
Priests alleged that they kissed each other 'obscenely' and were 'semi-nude'.
'When I applied for the job of santhi, I applied as a person who was eligible.' 'When I joined the temple at the age of 21, it was because I got the 4th rank in the list.' 'Now, everybody is talking only about my caste. I am above all that; it doesn't matter to me and to the people with whom I am associated with.'
"I will pay Rs 10 crore cash reward to anyone who beheads Stalin and brings his head to me. If no one dares to kill Stalin, I will myself find him and kill him," Paramhans Acharya, the chief priest of the Tapaswi Chawni temple of Ayodhya, said.
Dr Uma Mysorekar, president of the Hindu Temple Society of North America will offer 'responsive prayers' at the special service which will "symbolise America's traditions of religious tolerance and freedom", the Presidential Inaugural Committee said. "The National Prayer Service, which will embody the themes of tolerance, unity and understanding, is a worship service for all Americans," he said.
The complaint mentions the last scene of the film which shows a temple priest's daughter, played by Nayanthara, offering namaz wearing 'hijab' before making biryani.
The show takes its own pace to pick up, but then when you least expect, it grabs you by the throat, notes Aseem Chhabra.
Lal Salaam is not a movie A Ganesh Nadar would recommend.
A women offers prayers to the Sun God on the occasion of the Chhath Puja in Bhubaneswar.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea of self-styled godman Asaram, serving life term in a rape case, for suspension of the sentence because of his deteriorating health condition.
Doomariyaganj MLA Sayeda Khatoon had on Sunday visited the Samay Mata temple at the invitation of the local people to participate in a Shatchandi Mahayagya.
The priest said he was released with a warning that he would be killed if he returned to the country.
Buddhist monks have demanded the arrest of chief priest of Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya, Bhante Bodhi Pal, ex-officio secretary of Bodhgaya Temple Management Committee (BMTC) Kalicharan Yadav and public relations officer Bhajju Yadav for chopping off a branch of the Bodhi tree.
The BJP has been talking about Ram Rajya for years now. I have asked many a right winger what that means, but they cannot say beyond good government, notes A Ganesh Nadar.
The equestrian statue of the Maratha warrior king has been installed at the Army's 41 Rashtriya Rifles Maratha Light Infantry Regiment in the north Kashmir district which shares its border with Pakistan. Special prayers were held by a priest on the occasion.