Another widow will be ordained a priest at the Kudroli Gokarnanatha Temple, taking the total strength of such priests in the temple to three, former union minister and promoter of the temple B Janardana Poojary said on Monday.
He told reporters at the temple that another widow had come forward to serve as a priest there.
He explained she would be ordained and initiated into puja practices under the guidance of qualified priests and would offer her services to the temple after completion of her training.
Poojary said Bramarambika, a woman priest from Mysore, would be honoured with a gold medal during the next Dasara celebrations at Kudroli temple. He said he had been moved by the manner in which she countered a male priest in a televised debate on appointment of widows and women as priests.
Poojary said he had urged Chief Minister Siddharamaiah to issue an order appointing women and widows as priests in 35,000 temples in state. There must be a minimum of one woman priest in a temple, he added.