Telangana village holds 11-day 'yagna' for Kamala Harris's presidential victory

Residents of a village in Telangana started an 11-day yagna to bless US Vice President Kamala Harris who has Indian roots for her success in the Presidential elections.

In Short

• 11-day yagna in Telangana for Kamala Harris's win
• Ritual celebrates Harris’s Indian heritage
• Similar special prayers held in her ancestral village

Residents of Palwancha village in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district are performing a special yagna (ritual) to pray for the success of US Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming election for the new President of the United States.

This 11-day ritual, led by the Shyamala Gopalan Foundation, which was founded in the name of Kamala Harris’s mother, will hold a “Sri Sri Sri Raja Shyamala Devi Sahitha Shata Chandi Maha Sudarshana Yagna.” This elaborate ritual aims to bless Harris, the first Indian-American and South Asian woman to hold the office of Vice President, with success in her political aspirations in the US presidential elections. Harris’s mother was born and raised in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Several Vedic pandits and Chaturveda pandits were seen performing the ‘yagna’ as the ritual entered its 10 days on Tuesday, November 5. The ritual will be performed by 40 Vedic pandits and around 7000 people are expected to participate in it.

According to Nalla Suresh Reddy, the founder of Shyamala Gopalan Educational Foundation, the Shata Chandi Maha Sudarshana Yagna is traditionally performed to ward off obstacles and attract prosperity and positive energy. He said, “Whatever will happen, will happen by the grace of God. Today (November 5) is the 10th day of the yagya. We saw that due to the ritual, Harris’s support base increased. We want Harris to win.”

Similar special prayers were also held in Harris’s ancestral village Thulasendrapuram, in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvarur district. Thulasendrapuram was the birthplace of her maternal grandfather, PV Gopalan. Shri Dharmasastha temple in the village, which holds the names of its benefactors, proudly includes Harris among them, strengthening the bond between her family and the village.

Harris was nominated as the Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden quit the presidential race amid mounting concerns over his age, particularly after his poor show in the debate with Donald Trump in June. Harris is the first female, first Black, and first Asian-American vice president. If elected president, the 59-year-old would become the first woman in history to become the US president. The vice president is only the second woman ever nominated for the presidency by a major political party.