As India struggles under the weight of the second wave of Covid-19, some desperate worshippers, with nowhere else to turn, have begun praying at temples dedicated to the “Goddess Corona.”
Two statues of “Corona Devi”—one carved from sandalwood and the other from stone—have been established at the Kamatchipuri Adhinam temple in the southern city of Coimbatore. Here, priests pray daily for relief from the suffering experienced by the people of India.
In this South Asian country, similar shrines dedicated to Covid-19 and other plagues can be easily found.
“The Goddess Corona is our only hope”
Since the pandemic began, India has reported over 27 million cases and more than 322,000 deaths due to Covid-19. The latest outbreak, which started in March, has overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system, leading to a shortage of beds and oxygen.
In states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam, women gather near temples or beneath sacred trees to worship the coronavirus, personified as a goddess known as “Corona Maa.”
They sit in a circle and perform rituals, offering milk, coconuts, flowers, and sweets to the deity. Some recite prayers to appease the goddess’s wrath.
Bimla Kumari, a resident of Patna, the capital of Bihar, stated: “We are worshipping ‘Corona Maa’ to keep our family members safe from the virus. The goddess’s anger can be soothed with offerings, as she is a fierce goddess, not a benevolent one. The hospitals are overwhelmed, and the government is not concerned. Thus, the goddess is our only hope.”
After worshipping “Corona Maa” under a banyan tree with her friends, Kumari remarked, “Fortunately, everyone gathered here today is healthy.”
Priest performing a prayer ritual before the “Corona Devi” statue at the Kamatchipuri Adhinam temple in Coimbatore, seeking blessings to help the people survive the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo: AFP).
In India, there is a long-standing tradition of turning to faith in times of disaster to alleviate suffering.
Devotees of Sheetla Mata, the goddess of smallpox, believe she will protect them from the disease by vanquishing the demons believed to cause it.
The goddess Sheetla Mata is considered an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga. A 300-year-old temple in Gurgaon, near New Delhi, is dedicated to the worship of Sheetla Mata.
Additionally, there are other shrines specifically for healing. These places worship male deities, such as the Vaitheeswaran temple in the town of Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, where devotees pray before an incarnation of Lord Shiva.
The Mahadeva temple in Kerala is where devotees seek relief from epilepsy and chronic asthma. In the neighboring Tumkur district of Karnataka, cancer patients frequently visit the Areyuru Vaidhyanatheshwara temple, believing it can cure them without modern medical treatment.
The Pataleshwar temple in Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh—currently closed due to the pandemic—has been a popular destination for those suffering from skin diseases.
Many pilgrims come here seeking blessings by bringing brooms as offerings or sweeping the temple floors.
Shops selling brooms near the shrine often see high demand on weekends. After the offerings, most brooms are returned to the sellers to be resold to subsequent visitors.
Elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh, a hand pump at the Jagnewa Hanuman temple dispenses water that many believe has healing properties.
Devotees believe a saint touched the pump, imbuing it with healing capabilities. They fill glass bottles with the water and sprinkle it on the bodies of the sick, convinced it will heal them.
Anant Kumar, a local resident, shared: “My daughter’s chronic asthma—which modern medicine could not cure for years—disappeared within a month after she drank water from this hand pump.”
Priest worshipping the statue of Shiva and the goddess Parvati at a temple in Prayagraj, India. (Photo: AP).
Cultural tradition or superstition?
Millions of Indians place their faith in such “healing” temples. Meanwhile, many remain skeptical and consider this to be superstition.
Harsh Bhagnani, an engineer in Mumbai, stated: “Healing temples only serve as placebos for the gullible. Healing therapies should be grounded in science and modern medicine.”
Some critics of these temples argue that the reason people flock to them is due to the lack of investment in India’s healthcare system.
According to the 2020 Human Development Report by the United Nations Development Program, India ranks 155th out of 167 countries in terms of the number of hospital beds available to meet the needs of the population. The specific ratio is 5 beds and 8.6 doctors for every 10,000 people.
However, for R. P. Mitra, an anthropology professor at Delhi University, these religious rituals have become deeply ingrained in the Indian psyche.
“These temples serve as a support system, helping devotees during times of uncertainty, fear, and suffering caused by deadly diseases. The temples can be viewed as a supernatural complex,” Professor Mitra analyzed.
He noted that devout individuals may still seek divine blessings while believing in modern medicine, as both do not necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.
“Whether it is traditional Chinese medicine or ancient therapies practiced across countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, or India, religious belief has always been intertwined with traditional medicine,” he added.
