Dog worshipped as God in a temple in Karnataka

Agrahara Valagerehalli village of Channapattana in Karnataka is the only place in the state where people worship dogs. Villagers offer puja at the Dog Temple before worshipping Goddess Kempamma.

Ramanagara (Karnataka): A small village in Karnataka's Ramnagar district worships dog as God and has a Dog Temple. They believe that dogs would save their village from all evil.

In the Agrahara Valagerehalli village of Channapattana taluk of Ramnagar district, a special puja is offered to the dogs even before worshipping the village deity. Villagers here have built a temple for dogs and offer puja every day.

Narrating the history behind the temple, a villager said that many years ago two dogs had mysteriously disappeared from the village. Then Goddess Kempamma, who is the main deity of the village appeared in a villager's dream and asked him to build a temple for the two lost dogs beside her temple. She told the villager that the dogs would protect them and their village as "gatekeepers".

Following which, two idols of dogs and a simple marble-carved temple was constructed at the village next to the temple of Goddess Kempamma. Since then, villagers believe that these two canines are guarding their village and protecting them from all kinds of evil. As a custom, puja is offered to these dogs before the Goddess, the villager said.

This rare Dog Temple is not found anywhere else in Karnataka. There is a belief that if one offers prayers at the temple then his/her wish will be fulfilled.

Thus, thousands of devotees from different parts of the state throng here for the Jatra Mahotsav (fair) held in this village once a year. Devotees first bow down before the dogs and then have a glimpse of the Veeramasti Kempamma Goddess.