At This Mysore Temple, 2 Lakh Laddus For Devotees On New Year

The Yoga Narasimhaswamy temple in Mysore will continue its almost 40-year tradition of distributing two lakh laddus to mark the New Year on January 1. This practice, initiated in 1994 by Bhashyam Swami, has been consistently upheld by the temple authorities without a break.

The temple in Vijayanagar has enlisted 60 expert confectioners specialising in traditional sweets, working tirelessly under hygienic conditions around the clock. S. Srinivasan, the administrative officer of the temple, mentioned that the task of preparing two lakh laddus commenced on December 20 and is scheduled to conclude on December 31.

The distribution plan includes 15,000 massive laddus weighing two kg each, while the remaining, weighing 150 gm, will be distributed to visiting devotees on January 1, 2024. The ingredients for these laddus comprise 100 quintals of gram flour, 500 kg of cashews, 500 kg of almonds, 1,000 kg of diamond sugar, 10,000 litres of edible oil, 2,000 kg of boora sugar, 500 kg of raisins, 500 kg of pistachios, 50 kg of ‘jakai and japatre’, 50 kg of edible camphor or ‘pacche karpura’, cloves, and more. The temple authorities assure a taste similar to Tirupati laddus for every visitor.

On January 1, the temple opened at 4 a.m. for special rituals and pujas conducted by priests praying for the peace and welfare of society. The main deity will be adorned with special flowers from Srirangam and Madurai, and the priests will perform ‘Sahasranama archane’ to commemorate the occasion. Since its initiation in 1994 with the distribution of 1,000 laddus, the tradition has grown, and for the past few years, two lakh laddus have been distributed. While the State government hasn’t imposed COVID-19 restrictions, authorities suggest visitors wear masks in the collective interest of all.

Last year, special pujas and rituals, including Sahasranamacharane and abhisheka, will be conducted for Lord Narasimhaswamy starting from midnight on December 31. Tomale and Swarna Pushpa will be procured from Sri Ranga Kshetra and Madurai in Tamil Nadu for decorative purposes. Devotees will have the opportunity for darshan starting at 4 am on January 1, as conveyed by Prof. Bhashyam Swamiji, the Founder of Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy Temple.