Sabarimala temple to remain shut to women
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala's Sabarimala temple will stay shut to women, its custodian said Friday, and announced a two-year cleansing ritual after the shrine was found "defiled" because an actress claimed to have touched the presiding deity.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the custodian of the temple, arrived at its decision of not opening the temple to women at a meeting here Friday.
It also asked the Kerala government to institute a probe into actress Jaimala's claim that she had entered the temple in violation of tradition and even touched the temple deity almost two decades ago.
According to the temple rules, only girls who have not attained puberty and women who have entered menopause are allowed to enter the temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa.
"The rule of Sabarimala is very clear. A 41-day penance has to be observed before any devotee can come to this temple. Is it possible for women to observe a 41-day penance? So we just cannot allow the entry of women," TDB president G. Raman Nair told newsmen.
The temple is nestled in the heart of the Western Ghats in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala. The area trekked by the pilgrims is densely foliated; even now it is full of scary giant centipedes and leeches.
The main reason behind the ban on women in the temple is that Ayyappa, the presiding deity, would have his chronic bachelorhood defiled by the presence of grown up women.
Nair also defended astrologer P. Unnikrishna Panicker, who had said last month that somebody had "defiled" the temple, after which the actress claimed she had touched the deity.
"He has asked us to do certain corrective rituals, and this is to begin from the Sri Krishna Temple at Guruvayur next Friday. The entire corrective ritual would cost around half a million rupees and would take almost two years," added Nair.
Nair said they had received a list of things to be done from Panicker, including the handling of temple articles by the Pandalam royal family, who stay at Pandalam, also in Pathanamthitta district.
To keep up the age-old custom of allowing Ayyappa to meet the family, an annual event is held every year in January when the sacred ornaments stored at the Pandalam Palace are taken to the temple to be adorned on the deity of Ayyappa.
Panicker has asked the sword and the crown (thirumugham), which is placed on the deity by the Pandalam royal family, to be re-made. This has been strongly objected to by the Pandalam Family Association.
Nair also said that at present donkeys carry the materials required for construction up to the temple, which is situated on top of a hill.
He said that Panicker had suggested that a ropeway could be constructed from the foothills to the temple and it could be done if a devotee came forward to "build a ropeway in the form of an offering".
While the TDB is firm in going ahead with the "corrective rituals", the Pandalam Family Association has announced that it would approach the court against the findings of Panicker.
If the Pandalam family goes to court, it could well lead to long and protracted court battle.
