The closing of the Sabarimala temple for purification rituals following the entry of two women of menstruating age on Wednesday has put the Tantri of the shrine in the spotlight.
Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevararu closed the sanctum sanctorum at 10.35 a.m. for performing the purification rites in the wake of official confirmation of the entry of two young women into the temple. Darshan was resumed after the rites by 11.25 a.m.
Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A. Padmakumar said the Tantri had performed the rituals without obtaining the board’s consent.
However, the Tantri told The Hindu that he had told the TDB president over phone that the purification rites would have to be done. Mr. Rajeevararu said he had discussed the matter with Devaswom executive officer D. Sudheeshkumar. “Being the chief priest, I am duty-bound to follow the ritualistic practices at Sabarimala,” he said.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said Mr. Rajeevararu had no legal mandate to close the shrine on his own under the manual of the TDB. The TDB, a public entity, owned the temple, not the Tantri or the former ruling family of Pandalam. Only the TDB could order the closure of the temple. The Tantri was but an employee.
Chennithala’s stance
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the State-sponsored entry of women was a trespass on Ayyappa faith. “Non-believers have conspired to destroy faith. The Tantri acted appropriately,” he said.
BJP president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai said the government would face a backlash for “the assault on Hindu faith.”
General secretary of the Nair Service Society G. Sukumaran Nair thanked the Tantri and the Pandalam family for having closed the temple for purification.
