Boy's naked parade to invoke Rain God

Many are the ways in which people pray to invoke the Rain God Varuna in the country. At Chitradurga in Karnataka, they have a ritual to parade a young adolescent boy naked in the streets to propitiate the God. After prayers to the village deity, the boy is garlanded and taken in a procession in the presence of his mother and other women while the drums beat. After the ritual is over, the boy is presented with new clothes. This ritual at Pandarahalli was performed on June 10, when the South-West Monsoon should arrive in this part of South India. The monsoon did not break out, and the people had to invoke Varuna. Yajnas are peroformed for the same purpose. Priests enter a perennial lake and seek Varuna's blessings for the people. These are ancient customs with a will to do good to their fellowmen.