Special pujas, prayers held for safety of Indian soldiers across temples in Karnataka

BENGALURU: A day after the success of ‘Operation Sindoor’ conducted by the Indian Armed Forces, the Karnataka government on Thursday issued orders directing all temples in the state coming under the Endowment department to conduct special prayers to seek seek blessings for the soldiers.

In Bengaluru, special pujas and prayers were offered on Wednesday evening at Karanji Anjaneyaswamy temple in Basavanagudi, on Thursday at the historic Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple in Hanumanthanangar, Banashankari temple, Kadu Malleshwara and Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy temples in Malleswaram, among others. The priests at the temples conducted the first puja dedicated to the soldiers, making a solemn resolution for their safety and protection.

#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Havan is being performed at Gavi Gangadhareshwara Temple on the success of #OperationSindoor pic.twitter.com/CNHSzdmfkB

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2025

In other parts of the state, pujas were also held at the renowned Nimishambha temple in Srirangapatna, Narasimha Jharna, Mylara Mallanna, Honnikeri Siddeshwara and Changallera Veerabhadreshwara temples in Bidar district, at the Mallikarjuna temple in Bagalkot, and Tulasigeri Anjaneya temple, at temples in Ballari, Vijayanagar districts, Vadakaraya temple in Hosapete, at Ganagapura in Kalaburagi district, Maha Ganapathi temple in Gokarna, Omkareshwara temple in Madikeri, Chamundi temple atop Chamundi Hills in Mysuru, Bhoganarasimha Swamy temple in Devarayanadurga among others.

In the early hours on Wednesday, the Indian army struck terrorist infrastructures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir under ‘Operation Sindoor’, and have ‘avenged’ the loss of lives in the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.