‘Temple rules must not be changed’: Kerala devotees
April 17th, 2011 - 12:51 pm ICT by ANIKottayam (Kerala), Apr 17 (ANI): Expressing displeasure over permission granted to women in Maharashtra to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Sri Mahalakshmi temple, residents of Kerala’s Kottayam town said such the practice is a violation of traditional customs.
“I think women should not be allowed inside the Sabarimala temple. I mean, from age 10 till 50, they should not be allowed. I am not saying that women should be completely prohibited in the temple. The temple has certain rules and regulations. One should follow that,” said Suresh, a local.
Shockingly, some locals maintained that permitting women to pray inside the shrines would make them ‘impure’.
“When women come to the temple, the purity of the temple would be lost. So, to maintain the tradition of the temple, only women are not permitted inside it,” said Nirmal Kumar, a local.
Sabarimala Temple is the most famous and prominent among all the Sastha Temples in Kerala. It is believed that ‘Parasurama Maharshi’, who retrieved Kerala from the sea by throwing his axe, installed the idol of Ayyappa at Sabarimala to worship Lord Ayyappa. Sabarimala holy shrine is believed to be the place, where Lord Ayyappan meditated after killing the powerful demon, Mahishi.
Breaking a 2,000-year-old tradition, the authorities in Maharashtra granted permission to the women to enter into the sanctum sanctorum of the Mahalakshmi temple in Kolhapur on Friday. The temple is dedicated to the goddess of power. (ANI)
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Tags: axe, demon, devotees, displeasure, goddess, holy shrine, kolhapur, locals, lord ayyappa, lord ayyappan, mahalakshmi temple, maharashtra, maharshi, purity, sabarimala temple, sanctum sanctorum, shrines, temple rules, temples in kerala, traditional customs