Singer Yesudas is likely to visit Padmanabhaswamy temple on Vijayadasami

With a great faith in ‘Hindu Dharma’, Singer Yesudas is likely to visit Padmanabhaswamy temple for worshiping Lord Vishnu.

B Upendran | HENB | Thiruvanathapuram | Sept 17, 2017:: Eminent Carnatic vocalist and playback singer K J Yesudas has applied for permission to offer worship at the centuries-old Padmanabhawamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, where only believers of Hinduism are permitted.

The temple authorities said, the singer, a Christian by birth, sent the request letter and declaration of his faith in Hinduism through a special messenger on Saturday evening.

Temple executive officer V Ratheesan, IAS, said though Yesudas did not mention any particular date, the messenger informed that the singer would like to visit the shrine on Vijayadasami, which falls on September 30.

“As per our customs, anyone who believes in Hinduism can visit the Padmanabhaswamy temple and offer worship. There are no restrictions for that,” he told PTI.

“We all know about Yesudas’s faith in Hinduism and now he has given a declaration in this regard. So, as of now, there is no issue for him to visit the shrine,” the official said.

Non-Hindus and foreigners are permitted inside the sprawling shrine dedicated to Lord Padmanabha after accepting similar declarations, he said.

Hailing from a Roman Catholic family, the Malayalam singer had earlier been denied entry into the famous Sree Krishna temple at Guruvayur in Thrissur district and Kadampuzha Devi temple in Malappuram for being a ‘non-Hindu’.

However, Yesudas has been a regular visitor to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala and Mookambika temple at Kollur in Karnataka.

The popular “Harivarasanam” song, sung by Yesudas, is being recited every night before closing the Sabarimala temple door. Apart from singing more than 50,000 songs, the renowned playback singer has also rendered thousands of devotional Hindu songs and often performed concerts in various temples throughout the country.

Yesudas also beautifully sung for Lord Pamdmanabha Swamy in an album named, Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Sharanam.

Having started his career as a movie singer in 1961, the 77-year-old has rendered his voice in almost all the Indian languages. The seven-time National Film Award winner has bagged a total of 43 State Film Awards from the governments of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal.

A Padma Vibhushan awardee and winner of multiple national and state awards, Yesudas has enchanted his fans with his melodious grace in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi and Bengali in his 57-year-long singing career.

He has also rendered numerous devotional songs in praise of Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

“As a practicing Hindu, philanthropist and a Guru of Bharatiya Sangeet Parampara (Master of Indian Musical tradition), Shri Yesudas is a divine grace for Hindu Society. He must not be restricted anywhere to offer his prayers to Hindu Gods and Goddesses in our temples and shrines of us”, told Upananda Barhmachari, the Hindu interlocutor and Editor, Hindu Existence Site.

IMPORTANT UPDATE (Sept 18. 2017):: Noted singer KJ Yesudas permitted entry to Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

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__with inputs from PTI.