Now a Dog God comes as saviour!

Ramanagaram : Dog is man’s best friend, but South India’s Karnataka villagers are worshiping the canine in a temple as their protector.

At A V Halli village in Ramnagaram district, situated 57 km from Bangalore, people believe that the dog deity? ?Sri Naayidole Veerappa?, saves them from all sorts of troubles.

The temple of the ?Sri Naayidole Veerappa? (dog God) is located next to the temple of the village deity called ?Sri Veeramasti Kempamma?.

The dog God is considered to be the most trusted lieutenant of the goddess ?Veeramasti Kempamma?.

The God is considered to be extremely powerful and the villagers feel that he forsees the problems and even alert the villagers about the dangers on instructions from the ?Sri Veeramasti Kempamma?.

But it is not this factor that makes the dog God so much important; rather it is the immense faith and devotion that his followers? possess in their hearts towards him, that makes the entire thing more significant.

To prove their devotion towards their saviour, many families in the village have named their first child after the dog God.

In case the baby is male then he is called ?Veerappa? or ?Veeranna?, and if the child is female then she is named ?Veeramma?.

One significant transformation that the dog God has brought about in the village is the eradication of the evils of caste discrimination, as the priest, who worships him in his temple, belongs to the ?dalit? caste, reported Times of India.

This incident surely is an eye opener for several societies in India, where the evil of caste and other discrimination still rules.

??People come here and make wishes. They return to pay respects after their wishes are fulfilled,?? said Rajesh, a devotee.

The villagers also conduct an annual fair devoted to the dog God.