Chief priest or tantric can decide the rituals.
In what appears like backtracking from many progressive decisions made over the years regarding following of temple rituals, the Kerala High Court squashed an order passed by the executive office of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple that allows women to enter the temple premises wearing Salwar Kameez and Churidar.
The Kerala High Court, while hearing a plea against the order passed by the executive officer, ordered that women should not be allowed to wear churidar and salwar kameez inside the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple.
The High Court on Tuesday observed that the decision of the chief priest or tantric will be final when it comes to following rituals and it found that the Temple Board has no rights to make rules on rituals followed by a temple.
The current order comes at a time when the supreme court is considering a petition regarding allowing women entry to Sabarimala Temple.
The incident that leads to the court intervention happened in November when the executive officer of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple passed an order allowing women to enter the temple wearing salwar kameez and churidar. The temple has been following this tradition for many ages, but the executive officer took the step after a petition was filed by a women devotee Riya Raj.
The very important ruling of the court came after a new petition was filed by private parties challenging the Kerala High Court’s November order.
The administrative members of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple had opposed the order of the executive officer allowing women to entry the temple wearing churidar. They had expressed this opinion – to stand by the tradition – during discussions that followed the executive officer’s order.
Even though the order allowing women to enter the temple wearing churidar was implemented, only a very few could make use of it as Hindu organizations came out protesting the move.
Going by the tradition, only women wearing sarees are allowed to enter the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple and when it comes to men, they should compulsorily remove their shirts and wear a dhoti.
The Padmanabhan Swamy temple is one of the richest temples in the world with temple treasures worth 1 lakh crore rupees. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is one of the 108 Divya Desams (Holy abodes of Vishnu).
In Padmanabhaswamy temple Lord Vishnu can be seen in a state of sleep on Sheshnaag.
Even though a separate case altogether, the famous Sabarimala temple, dedicated to lord Ayappan was also taken to court by Indian Young Lawyers Association and five women lawyers who approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction to allow entry of women into the temple without age restrictions.