India’s Kartikeya Temple is just like any other in the country. Religious faithfuls gather here to worship, however, there is one exception to those who are allowed in.
Lord Kartikeya is the son of Lord Shiva and considered as the God of War. The temple at Pushkar celebrates Kartikeya’s brahmachari form and restricts entry to women.
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It is believed that women who enter the temple are cursed and not blessed. There is another temple in Pehowa, Haryana that celebrates Kartiyeka’s brahmachari form and like the temple at Pushkar, women are also not allowed into it.
The heated debate on the entry of women into these temples has for years continued to ravage on. The Kartikeya shrine remains out of bounds for women and it is believed that any woman who enters the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum), will be widoe=wed for seven births.
People from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi visit the temple and offer prayers to ancestors. A large board welcomes visitors to the ancient temple and warns women against entering it.
According to the legend which is responsible for barring women from entering this temple, when it was time for Lord Shiva to name his heir, Paravati announced that whoever went around the universe and came back first would be the winner.
Kartikeya’s younger brother Ganesha, who rode on a rat, simply circled Lord Shiva and Parvati saying they encapsulate the universe. He was declared the winner.
When Kartikeya, who rode on a peacock, came to know about this, he was furious. He removed the skin and blood he got from his mother and cursed her for the deceit.
Then he announced that if any woman ever came to see him in this form, she would be widowed for seven successive births.
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