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This video of a dog ‘singing’ Kirtan with devotees in a temple has left people spellbound

Though considered man’s best friend, some believe that dogs are ‘impure’ and thus undeserving of entry to a holy place.

This video of a dog ‘singing’ Kirtan with devotees in a temple has left people spellbound

(Photo: Twitter/@sushmadate)

Dogs are generally shooed away from places of worship. Though considered man’s best friend, some believe that dogs are ‘impure’ and thus undeserving of entry to a holy place. And the belief is not restricted to any particular religion or region. Thus it came as a surprise to many when the video of a dog ‘singing’ kirtan (devotional song) in a temple surfaced.

In the video the dog, a white stray, is seen joining the kirtan in its own way with the singers.

The video was shared by Twitter user @sudhmadate, who wrote that the dog always visits the temple on Thursdays.

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“This devout little dog belongs to my friend’s factory. Every Thursday evening, without fail, he walks over to the temple next door and joins the keertan. Then he has his share of prasad and trots back home. Every single Thursday!” Date wrote.

 

Obviously, the dog won the internet with people, who were left amazed by the devotion of the dog, leaving beautiful comments.

 

At the time of writing, the tweet posted by Date had attracted 5.4K likes and had been retweeted 2.2K times.

Dog and religion

To those who are still wondering how a dog could be allowed inside a temple, the Hindu mythology reveals that dogs are not necessarily ‘impure’ as the belief goes.

Lord Bhairava – one of the most powerful forms of Lord Shiva – has a dog as a mount. Lord Dattatreya, an incarnation of the Trinity, has four dogs, symbolising the four Vedas, for company.

Yudhisthira, the principal character in Mahabharata, is followed by a dog to heaven. According to the epic, that dog was Lord Yama in disguise who was testing whether Yudhisthira was worthy of ascending heaven. When Lord Indra tells Yudhisthira to abandon the dog, he refuses citing the dog’s loyalty to him, thereby passing the test.

Nepal has an entire five-day festival called Kukur Tihar during which dogs are worshipped.

In Christianity, Saint Roch is recognised as the patron saint of dogs. In Bolivia, 16 August is celebrated as the “birthday of all dogs”.

Dogs are, however, considered unclean in Islam even though kindness to all animals is advocated in a Hadith.

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