Sabarimala temple to undergo purification rituals after women entered the shrine

Guwahati: It happened for the first time in the history of the Sabarimala temple that two women devotees under the age of 50s could enter into the temple for offering their prayers and this has irked the temple committee. As the temple committee and its devotees do not allow women of menstrual age to enter into the temple, this recent incident of women’s entry into the temple has compelled them to opt for a temple purification ritual.

Notably, it has not been more than 3 months when the Supreme Court had lifted the ban on the entry of women into the Sabarimala temple. The SC has ordered to allow women devotees of all age inside the temple but the dogmatic male devotees of the temple were not ready to accept this verdict.

The temple will be kept closed for the purification rituals.

The two women who claim to have entered into the temple are Kanakadurga, 42, and Bindu, 44. They said they entered into the holy shrine of Lord Ayyappa early this morning. Before this as well, these two women had tried to enter the temple but could not due to a massive protest of the protesters and police had to bring them back amid tight police protection.

But this time, the duo trekked to the hill shrine early Wednesday and they even have a video proving that they entered into the temple wearing black clothes with their heads covered. With an intention of entering the holy shrine at any cost, the women even started their trek around midnight and finally reached the temple around 3.45 am on Wednesday. The duo was, however, not doing it alone as they also had police personnel escorting them in their trekking.

The entry of the two women has also been confirmed by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Vijayan said, "We had issued standing orders to police to provide all possible protection to any woman who wants to enter the temple."

Of the two women, Bindu is a college lecturer and CPI(ML) activist from Kozhikode district's Koyilandy. Another woman Kanakadurga is a civil supplies employee from Angadipuram in Malappuram. They both had come to Sabarimala on December 24 with a motive of entering inside and offering prayers.

Also read: Sabarimala Row: Opposition lambasts Kerala Chief Minister