Q&A: 11. Bells in Temples

Question: What is the reason for having bells in temples in our culture?

Answer: Bells are an inherent part of our culture. They can be heard ringing throughout the day in all our temples. The sounding of the bell can spiritually energize any person that crosses a temple. We tend to automatically look up and pray if we happen to be in the vicinity of a temple where there is a bell ringing. As per Aagama scriptures, bells should be made of ‘panchaloha‘ (five metals) which are brass, copper, iron, silver and gold. These 5 metals represent the five elements (‘pancha bhootham’). Based on the composition of these metals, the sound of the bells vary.

There are collective reasons for ringing of bells in temples. Some of which are as below:

To gain attention

Almost all events in a temple are announced by the ringing of the bell. Thus it can be said that devotees are brought to attention to a particular event (such as opening of the sanctum, performance of lighting of holy fire (haarathi ), holy shower (abhishekam), offering food (naivedhyam) etc. The other interpretation is that by ringing the bell, we are capturing the attention of God to indicate our presence in the temple.

Emptying the mind

Bells are designed to produce the most sacred sound ‘OM’, the Pranava. When such sounds are produced, it helps in drowning any unnecessary noise that might lead to distractions. The mind becomes empty of any thoughts and the person becomes very receptive and aware. Bell ringing during prayer can help in controlling the wandering mind and help focusing on God.

Positive vibrations

The sounding of bell helps in purifying the surrounding environment. All the negative thoughts or forces inside are driven away. The person is charged with spiritual and positive energy. The design of temple itself is made in such a way all people inside can hear the bell clearly and the whole temple is filled with maximum positive energy.

There is a verse in Sanskrit which explains the reason for ringing bells:

aagamaartham thu devaanaam gamanaartham thu raakshasaam 
ghantaaravam karomi aadhou devataahvaana laanchanam

Meaning: For the purpose of inviting the Devaas (positive thoughts) and to drive out the demons (negative vibes), I make the sound of Ghanta (Bell) in the beginning as a mark of auspiciousness.

To replicate the effect of same, We can also use small sized bells at home as dictated by our tradition.

In earlier days, people living in temple towns used to synchronize their entire day with the tolling of temple bells. They woke up with the sounds of temple bells, prayed and had food after completion of temple offerings (which was indicated by the temple bells) and finally went to sleep after the final tolling of the bells. Thus these bells also served as a way of leading a disciplined life for the whole village. Being the ringer of the bell was considered a great service to the temple as well. It still is. So, let’s participate in our local temple events and try to maintain our traditions and pass them successfully to the next generation.

Click below to view the earlier questions and answers in this series: 

https://thedal.info/category/dharmicqa/