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Yet another Success Story of Hindu Priestesses in an Indian City

Hindu women are today conducting prayers, pujas and rituals in different parts of India. Many Hindus have started to prefer women priests over male priests because the Hindu Priestess is never in a hurry, she performs the puja neatly, she explains what she is doing, and why she is doing it to the family. Hindu women in the family are more comfortable as they get a chance to clear their doubts regarding rituals. No wonder why there are more than 600 Hindu Priestesses in a city like Nagpur in Maharashtra.

In North and Western India, Hindu Priestesses are today conducting pujas like Vaastu Puja, Maha Rudra, pujas associated with birth and death, Satya Narayan Katha puja, Satya Vinayak, Satya Dutta, Satya Amba, Satya Shiv, Satya Gajanan, Udakshanti, Rudra, Ati Rudra, Pranpratishtha, Atharvashirsha, Bramhanspatisukta, Shripurushsukta, Shrisukta, Shri Soursukt and several other pujas.

Today there are several organizations and ashrams in India and abroad that are actively training women to perform Hindu rituals and pujas. Shankar Seva Samiti in Pune is one of the famous organizations that impart knowledge to women in Vedic mantras and rites.

Chandrashekhar Barve writes about the Hindu Priestesses in Nagpur in Times of India

Actually, before the early 1980s, there was not a single women priest in the city. It was a priest - Vidhwans Guruji - who brought about the revolution. ‘Even women like Gargi and Maitrayee were sages,’ Kanetkar says. But the male-dominated society couldn't quite make its peace (read Om shanti) with the idea. But determined as he was, Vidhwans said women could indeed become priestesses. And there was no looking back. The tapasya-like dedication paid off, and today 20 to 30 girls are groomed to be priests every year.

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