Have you ever heard of devotees worshipping Lord Yama Dharmaraja, the God of Death! Sounds strange but it is a fact.
Devotees from various parts of the State and other parts of the country make a beeline for the Sri Laxminarasimha Swamy devasthanam in Dharmapuri of Karimnagar district to offer prayers to Lord Yama, the God of Death on the occasion of ‘Yama Dwitheeya’ on Saturday.
This ancient and historic temple shrine houses a temple for Lord Yama Dharmaraja also. Devotees visiting the shrine offer prayers to the Lord Yama regularly. But, on Saturday, which is also auspicious ‘Yama Dwitheeya,’ the devotees offer special prayers to Yama. Thousands of devotees thronged the temple shrine to offer prayers to Lord Yama after taking a holy dip in the Godavari. The devotees poured oil in ‘Ganda Deepam’ to get rid of their sorrows and sufferings. They also performed special pujas such as ‘Ayoosha sooktham’ for longevity and good health. Dharmapuri Temple priest Ramesh Sharma said Yama Dwitheeya is celebrated on the second day after the Diwali festival, marking the visit of Lord Yama to his sister Yamuna Devi’s house for lunch. Yama promises his sister that people who offer prayers on this day would not go to hell and they would get rid of all sorrows and sufferings. Similarly, it is believed that people having ‘Bhagini-hastha’ (food served by one’s sister) on this day would enjoy longevity and cleansed of their sins, he said.
