Bengaluru’s 12th-century temple says "no to weddings"

India Today

We decodes why one of Bengaluru’s oldest temples, the 12th-century Halasuru Someshwara Swamy Temple, has quietly stopped hosting weddings after centuries.

Transcript

00:00This temple stopped hosting weddings. Guess why? Because most couples who got married here

00:05ended up getting divorced. One of Bengaluru's oldest shrines, the 12th century Hallasuru

00:10Sumeshwaraswami temple near Alsur Lake has stopped conducting wedding ceremonies, bringing a

00:15centuries-old tradition to a quiet halt. For nearly six to seven years, devotees were left

00:20wondering why marriages had suddenly stopped at the revered Shiva temple. The reason now revealed

00:25lies not in faith, but in family courts, a sharp rise in divorce-related legal disputes.

00:31Priests who solemnized these marriages were also listed as official witnesses. As relationships

00:36collapsed, marriages broke down, they were repeatedly summoned to courts, spending more

00:40time attending divorce hearings than performing rituals inside the temple. According to temple

00:45authorities, more than 50 divorce-related cases linked to temple weddings emerged in the last

00:50two years, a dramatic increase from fewer than five cases annually a decade ago. Officials

00:55also flagged a rise in elopements and weddings conducted with forged or incomplete documents,

01:01often without family's consent. When parents later surfaced, disputes escalated into police

01:06complaints and legal battles, tracking the temple and its priests deeper into litigation.

01:11The temple administration warned that such episodes could damage the sanctity and public image

01:16of the historic shrine, prompting the decision to discontinue wedding ceremonies altogether.

01:21The move has now triggered mixed reactions, while some devotees praise the temple's caution

01:25over its image and saving priests' time for devotion to God. Critics argue it erodes a deeply rooted

01:31cultural practice, noting that temple weddings are considered especially auspicious in South India.

01:36What do you think? Tell us in the comments below.

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