An order notifying renaming of the temple of lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala, Kerala’s famous pilgrimage centre, has triggered a controversy with Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran of the CPI(M) questioning the legal validity of the order and claiming that he was kept in the dark about the decision.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) administering the shrine stated in the order that the Sabarimala temple would henceforth be known as Sree Ayyappa Swami Temple instead of Sree Dharmasastha Temple, the name by which it was known so far. Though the order was dated October 6, it had come to public knowledge only the other day. Kadakampally said an explanation would be sought from the TDB over the matter.
According to the TDB order, Sabarimala is the only place in entire world that has a temple dedicated to Sree Ayyappa Swamy and hence it would be known in that deity’s name. The order said that the Sabarimala shrine had become Sree Ayyappa Swamy temple after Ayyappa Swamy became one with the then deity of the shrine, Sree Dharmasastha, following the fulfillment of his divine mission in the world “centuries ago”.
Reports have appeared to the effect that the TDB has issued the order perhaps with the goal of effectively resisting the CPI(M)-led lDF Government’s position in the case in the Supreme Court on the issue of women’s entry at the hill shrine. As per the present system, women between 10 and 50 years of age are not allowed to enter the temple.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally complained through a Facebook post that he, the Minister in charge of the Government Department that handles the affairs related to bodies administering the temples in the State, had learned about the TDB decision on the renaming of the Sabarimala shrine through media reports. TDB president Prayar Gopalakrishnan and the lDF Government have not been in good relationship for the past several months.
“I don’t think that the TDB has any legal authority to rename the Sree Dharmasastha Temple of Sabarimala, one of the most ancient shrines in Kerala, on its own. That the board, which does not have the power to take such a decision even in the case of small shrines, had taken such a crucial decision and kept it a secret so far is a serious violation of the rules,” Kadakampally said in the FB post.
Stating that the Government would seek an explanation from the TDB, Kadakampally said that the TDB president had not shown even the minimum decency to inform him about the decision though they had interacted directly during many meetings related to the Sabarimala temple and the annual pilgrimage there after the issuance of the order on the change of the temple’s name.
“When I contacted the Tantri (traditional chief priest) of Sabarimala temple, he told me that he had no knowledge of any such decision and that nobody had sought his opinion. He also indicated that there was no need of such a change of name at this juncture,” Kadakampally said in the Facebook post.
However, the TDB president has reportedly adopted a position that the board had issued the order in response to the devotees’ demand and that there was no need to inform the Minister of the decision taken as the matter came under the limits of the board’s autonomous authority. He added that talks about the influence of the change in name on the case in the apex court were not important.