New Delhi: With the Sabarimala temple reopening Monday evening, an outfit spearheading the stir against allowing women of all ages to enter the shrine said it will continue its vigil in and around the temple to ensure that religious sentiments are not hurt in any manner.
The All India Sabarimala Action Council (AISAC) said Monday it was relieved that ‘no women of menstruating age (10-50 years) visited’ the hill temple of Lord Ayyappa in the just concluded Mandalam season (December 27).
The Lord Ayyappa temple in the Pathinamthitta district of Kerala opened Monday for pilgrims for the ‘Makara vilakku’ season.
The Council is hopeful that the sanctity, traditions, rituals and customs of the shrine, where the presiding deity is a celibate yogi, will be protected at any cost, AISAC general secretary SJR Kumar said.
“We will continue our vigil in and around the temple premises to ensure that the pilgrims’ sentiments and religious beliefs are not hurt in any manner,” Kumar said.
He also expressed happiness over the observation made December 5 by Chief Justice SA Bobde that the Supreme Court verdict given in 2018 allowing women of all ages into the Sabarimala temple was not the ‘final word’ and the matter had been referred to a larger Bench.
“For protecting the temple’s sanctity, so many ardent devotees had protested last year and this year against entry of all women. As many as 65,000 such Ayyappa bhakts have been facing criminal cases in various courts of Kerala,” Kumar claimed.
“Legally we will continue our fight in the Supreme Court to ensure that the meditation of God Ayyappa was not disturbed,” he asserted.
Kumar, who is a former president of VHP’s Kerala unit, said ‘it is not a small issue (entry of all women). It involves the sentiments of crores of Ayyappa devotees world over and we can’t take any chances’.
Meanwhile amid heavy security, the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa at Sabarimala opened for the ‘Makara vilakku’ festival. There was a heavy rush of Ayyappa devotees when the shrine opened at 5.00pm.
Chief Priest AK Sudheer Namboothiri opened the temple doors and performed the rituals inside the sanctum sanctorum as well as on the holy 18 steps after which the pilgrims were allowed to have ‘darshan’.
Head priest Kandaru Mahesh Mohanaru oversaw the various rituals. The ‘Makara vilakku’ will be held January 15 and the shrine will be closed January 21.
Chanting ‘swamiye saranam Ayyappa’, thousands of devotees thronged the temple after waiting for hours in long queues. However, no special pujas were held Monday.
This year it was a peaceful pilgrimage season during the first half. Last year the shrine had witnessed massive protests by devotees against the state government’s decision to implement the Supreme Court’s September 28 verdict, allowing women of all ages to offer prayers.
A new batch of 1,397 police personnel took charge at Sabarimala for the ‘Makara vilakku’ festival.
Agencies