Brahma Temple: Government may appoint mahant

AJMER: The controversy over appointing the ‘mahant’ (chief priest) at Brahma Temple in Pushkar continued on Saturday with the state government likely to appoint a receiver to manage the temple.
The district administration has already seized the main office and ‘hundis’ (boxes for offerings) of the temple and is waiting for various sects of priests to resolve the issue of appointing the next mahant.
There are several claimants to the post, including the Purohit Sangh of Pushkar, which wants a learned person to be appointed, the Akahada sect and the Shath Darshan group of priests, who wants the teachings of Brahma to be spread in accordance with their philosophy.
“There are two or three more claims for the post of mahant. A relative of late mahant Sompuri has also put his claim to the seat,” said a source.
The next mahant will be officially announced on January 27. “In 2013, when mahant Laharpuri died, the seat and office of the temple were left vacant. It was then Sompuri of the Akahda sect captured the office. This led to a large controversy and police were deputed in the area for several days,” the source said.
But this time, after the death of mahant Sompuri, the district administration seized and locked the office of the mahant.
“There will be no difficulties for devotees who come here to offer prayers. The district administration is maintaining the facility and looking after the day-to-day affairs for devotees,” said an official.
The police have also been deputed around the temple to prevent any protests.
The district administration’s action has not gone down well with the priests who expressed anger and alleged that the state government was interfering in religious issues. The sects also warned the government of consequences.
Beside these groups, the current priests of Laxmi Niwas Temple, Devilal and Suresh Puri, are also contesting for the post of mahant. The trustee of the temple, Smataram, has also entered the fray.
After considering all such claims, the administration has submitted a report to the government and the Devasthan department is trying to resolve the issue.
But official sources said that it was possible that the state government would appoint a receiver to the main temple which would open the way for the government to run the temple. The last mahant Sompuri died in a road accident earlier this week.