Sabarimala Belongs To Devotees, Not The Board: Kerala Royal Family

Hardening its stand against the entry of women of menstrual age into the Sabarimala shrine, the erstwhile Pandalam royal family on Wednesday said it was not prepared for any compromise as regards the ancient rituals and traditions of the Ayyappa temple.

Speaking to reporters at Pandalam, royal family representative Sasikumar Varma rejected Kerala governments' contention that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) was the custodian of the temple and said it was "wrong".

"The temple is of the devotees," he said, adding, "If there is any violation of the customs and traditions, they have the right to question the same."

"We have never asked to close down the temple. We are not prepared for any compromise on customs and traditions. The family is not eyeing the wealth of the Ayyappa temple," Mr Varma said.

On the issue of entry of women into the shrine, he said there was an attempt to "divide" the Hindu faithful on the basis of "avarnas" (lower) and "savarnas" (upper) castes. But Ayyappa devotees saw through it and did not fall into the trap, Mr Varma added.

Taking a dig at the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, Mr Varma said the attachment of the royal family to the temple did not change every five years.

However, they had time and again sought a hike in the allowances for the people who escorted the "Thiruvabharanam" (sacred ornaments of Lord Ayyappa) from Pandalam to Sabarimala during the Mandala Makaravillaku festival.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had criticised the Pandalam royal family and the "tantri" (head priest of the temple) Tuesday, saying the board was the legal custodian of the hill temple.