Dehradun: Usually, the trend is that a boy is named after a male god and a girl child after a female deity. But in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, one can also find a male child named after a goddess — Anusuya Devi — in almost every third village of the hill district.

On the occasion of Dattatreya Jayanti – which is usually in the month of December – childless couples perform an overnight pooja and conduct a yagna to pray to goddess Anusuya to be blessed with a child. The locals believe that the deity herself appears in the dream of childless couples and places a child in their lap. Following which, they have to come to the temple to offer prayers. And if the prayers are answered, majority of the couples name their child as Anusuya – irrespective of whether it is a boy or girl.

Examples of those whose names have been kept in this manner include Anusuya Prasad Maikhuri, former deputy speaker of the Uttarakhand assembly, and Anusuya Prasad Bhatt, former chairman of the Badri Kedar Temple Committee (which administers the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples).

Reaching the revered shrine is not an easy process though. The shrine is located at a distance of 19 km from Gopeshwar in Chamoli district and also involves a trek of around 6 km to reach the temple.

The chief priest of the temple, Pradeep Semwal says that “people desiring a child have been flocking to the temple for centuries.” “There are hundreds — if not thousands — of people named after the deity in the district, which just shows how people’s prayers get answered by the deity.” he said.

Elaborating on the mythology behind the belief, the priest said, ‘It is believed that Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma once decided to test the strength of Devi Anusuya. The three disguised themselves as sages and went to the goddess who was able to see through their disguises. She agreed to the test but put the condition that the three take the form of her sons. Soon after, a three-faced son, Dattatreya was born to Anusuya and her husband Atri Muni. The fair at the goddess’s temple is also organised each year on the occasion of Dattatreya Jayanti which falls in December.”

Former deputy speaker of Uttarakhand assembly Anusuya Prasad Maikhuri who is a two-time legislator — from Badrinath in 2002 and Karnprayag in 2012 — said about the belief, “The child born after performing prayers before Ma Anusuya is regarded as her ‘prasada.’” He added that the Dattatreya Jayanti for 2019 is on December 11, and thousands of devotees were expected at the shrine.

