HYDERABAD: A Naga Pratishta puja to ward off negative influences is likely to cost you a bomb this Karthika season.
Even small temples in the city are charging anywhere between Rs 60,000-70,000 for Naga Pratishta puja as the demand has peaked with many wanting to leave behind personal and financial losses following the Covid pandemic.
“It is the best remedy for those finding it difficult to get married, troubles in marriage, not having children, work issues. But we recommend this based on charts of individuals,” said Piduru Rajasekhara Sharma, a city-based astrologer.
“I did not have the money or time to visit famous temples. So, I was searching for this puja in the city. To my shock, some priests demanded Rs 60,000,” said Sarat Kasani, a software professional facing job issues.
According to Sharma, the puja is performed where Shiva is one of the deities and takes 3-5 hours. The snake god’s idols have to be installed and the priest or the person getting it done has to ensure that puja is offered daily.
“It is seen as a very complex process and not many temples prefer having snake idols installed by devotees. So the charges are high,” another astrologer said.
The famed Srikalahasti Temple began offering this puja in 2017 for about Rs 15,000.
“But in small temples, it takes more than Rs 50,000. Very few temples offer this puja for less,” said M Mallikharjun, a pandit.
Temple authorities said the demand was high during the auspicious Karthika season, especially on festive days such as Nag Chaviti.
A manager of Shiva temple in Chaitanyapuri said, “We have full bookings. But we had to turn away many as our temple is very small.”
