Sanksrit a big hurdle for priest aspirants in Karnataka
BENGALURU: It is frightening how much control religious institutions wield over the state’s polity, and this was in evidence in the recent assembly elections, where secular ideals were discarded to help tap into the influence wielded by these institutions and convert them into electoral gains
RAJENDRA CHENNI, Professor at Kuvempu University
The inability of aspirant priests to learn Sanskrit and the Agama Shastras, scriptures that codify rules of worship in Hindu institutions, is proving a quandary for the state government. As a result, it is thinking of starting more Sanskrit pathshalas, even as reservations have been expressed from many quarters over the move.
The government’s troubles stem from the fact that the pass percentages in two exams it conducts for priest aspirants in the state, the Agama Pravara or foundational exam and Agama Praveena or advanced exam, has historically been around 39%.
For example, in 2018, 871 candidates appeared for the Agama Pravara exam, of whom only 335 or 38.4% of candidates passed. In the Praveena exam, 133 candidates out of 351 passed, which is a pass percentage of a little under 38.
These exams were made mandatory in 1997, when the state government brought in the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act. This Act was an amalgamation of several separate laws that existed in the state.
It was through this Act that the state government took over the management of 34,543 temples in the state. And in the Act, the government specified that appointment of priests would be based on passing the Agama exams and education in Sanskrit pathshalas.
While some people have aired concerns over the insistence on the Agamas, calling them Vedic and hence exclusionary, the Muzrai department, which is tasked with managing the temples and the exam, said there was no discrimination in the process.
“There are no restrictions based on caste for learning the Agamas and it is not necessary for anybody to even attend Sanskrit pathshalas to be eligible to write the exams. But a knowledge of the Agamas is necessary as laid down in the legislation,” the official said. Muzrai minister Rajshekhar Patil did not respond to calls or messages.
“All the students who took the exam this year were students of the 36 Sanskrit Pathshalas run in the state, as they have been for the past 5 years or so,” the official quoted above said. “As a result, we have decided to open more Sanskrit Pathshalas to improve the pass percentage,” he added.
However, reservations to the proposal have been aired from many quarters, including the Kannada Development Authority, a government body tasked with promoting the language.
SG Siddaramaiah, chairman of the authority, said there were few Vedic temples in the state. “The majority of temples are of nonVedic gods. This being the case, the rituals and chanting in these temples should be conducted in Kannada and there should be no insistence on Vedic traditions.”
“Will our Gods not listen to pleas, petitions and prayers made in Kannada?, asked Siddaramaiah.
Rajendra Chenni, professor at the Kuvempu University, said by insisting on knowledge of Agamas, at least 80% of the people were being denied access to the posts.
Regarding Karnataka’s fraught history of legislating religious institutions, Chenni said these moves arose from the temple entry movements of the preIndependence era when these spaces were sought to be democratised.
“It is frightening how much control religious institutions wield over the state’s polity, and this was in evidence in the recent assembly elections, where secular ideals were discarded to help tap into the influence wielded by these institutions and convert them into electoral gains,” he said.
The state’s former advocategeneral Raviverma Kumar said it was time for the legislature to bring in a new Act to better regulate religious institutions, including the appointment of priests.