Inside India's rare monastery for cats

Watch as cats are fed before people in one of India’s rarest monasteries—Odisha’s Bileikhia Mutt—where devotion and adoration run deep.

Transcript

00:00These cats are eating Prasad, a daily offering of milk and rice at one of India's rarest

00:09temples. In Urissa's Bilekhya Mutt, cats are a special part of temple life. They roam freely

00:14through sacred corridors, stretch lazily in sunlit spots, and curl into corners of prayer

00:19halls as though they belong. Because they do. The head priest takes care of the cats,

00:24making sure they are fed with biscuits and specially prepared rice made just for them.

00:28Only after these cats have eaten, do the devotees receive their share. At the premises of the

00:33monastery stands a temple devoted to Lord Madan Mohanjur, a form of Lord Krishna. Some

00:39of these cats were born here, while some are left by owners who are no longer able to care

00:43for them. This centuries old tradition began over 500 years ago, when a king from Owl, touched

00:49by the priest's care for hundreds of cats, gifted land to support the monastery, a legacy

00:53that continues today. In far away Japan, cats are also seen as symbols of luck and protection.

00:59At Tokyo's Gotokuji temple, the iconic Maneki Neko figurines, also known as the beckoning

01:03cat, are offered for good fortune. And here in Urissa, these cats are a living, breathing

01:08example of devotion and compassion come together. Today about 10 cats call this monastery home.

01:14The number of cats has dropped over time, but the importance remains unchanged.

01:17Have you ever visited a place where cats are fed before people and worship devotion?

01:22Comment below.

01:24Is it we have visited a place where cats are fed,ately?

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