Haridwar: Even as Ganesha idols were being immersed by devotees across the country on Sunday, priests of the Maya Devi temple in Haridwar in order to “break the tradition of immersion” decided that they will not immerse the idol which they had been worshipping since the beginning of Ganesh Chaturthi 10 days ago.Instead, the idol was on Sunday taken for a ritual bath in the Ganga and thereafter established in the temple. Mahant Seva Giri, the priest of the temple told TOI, “There is no written evidence in any religious text that Ganesha idols should be immersed.” He added that “Ganesha and Lakshmi idols must be placed in home, office or temple for wealth and prosperity.” “The practice of immersion in the rivers was started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak during the British period but there is no religious sanction for this practice. Since it has become a prevalent practice, we wanted to send a message by not immersing the Ganesha idol that we had been worshipping. This is also the correct way to observe the ritual of Ganesha worship,” the priest added.The temple had this year installed a brass idol of Ganesha at the beginning of the 10-day long Ganesh Chaturthi festival. with the intention of reinstalling it at the end of the festival. Devotees at the temple welcomed the move. “We came to know from the temple priests that it is more beneficial not to immerse the Ganesha idols in the river. It will be good for the river as well since thousands of idols are immersed here causing a great deal of pollution,” said Naresh Jaiswal, a devotee.Incidentally, Haridwar is also referred to as Mayapur in many religious texts and Maya Devi is regarded as the goddess of the city. The Maya Devi temple is one of the oldest temples in the city situated in the premises of the Juna Akhara.

Stay updated with all the Dehradun Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.