Sabarimala Top Priest

With the annual pilgrimage season just weeks away, S Arun Kumar Namboothiri was selected on Thursday as the new Melsanthi (chief priest) of the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.

A Christian priest in Kerala returned his church licence for performing pastoral services following a row over him observing the 41-day abstinence followed by Lord Ayyappa devotees to offer prayers at the famous Sabarimala shrine.

The Kerala High Court on Saturday held a special sitting to hear pleas on the appointment of the chief priests and transport facilities for pilgrims to the famous Sabarimala temple at Pathanamthitta district.

Welcoming Congress president Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad in Kerala, head priest CS Rangarajan at the popular Chilkur Balaji temple in Hyderabad said he was curious to know the opinion of the Congress chief on the Supreme Court judgement to allow women into the Sabarimala temple.

Kerala's Sabarimala temple will open to pilgrims tomorrow for an annual 10-day festival. A press release issued by the temple said head priest Kandararu Rajeevaru will preside over the opening ceremony. Ahead of the festival, a new gold-plated door will replace the old one made of teak wood.

The head priest of the Sabarimala temple today claimed that the 'purification' ritual followed at the shrine, on the day the two women below 50 years entered the temple, was for an unrelated reason.

Sabarimala's tantri Kantararu Rajeeveru today told the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) that he carried out "purification rituals" following the two women's entry, as that was "the natural practice followed whenever there is a breach of the temple tradition and customs".

Sabarimala temple custodian, the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB), today extended time to Tantri Kantararu Rajeeveru to explain why a "purification" ritual was conducted following the visit of two women devotees to the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

A senior Kerala minister today attacked the Sabarimala temple's Tantri (chief priest), calling him a "Brahmin monster" for conducting a ''purification'' ceremony after two women in the menstrual age group entered the shrine

The Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) -- custodians of the Sabarimala temple today decided to seek an explanation from Kantararu Rajeeveru, the temple tantri, as to why they conducted a "purification ritual" on Wednesday, said a TDB official

The Supreme Court will hear on January 22 a contempt plea against the Sabarimala temple tantri for shutting the sanctum for purification after two women belonging to the previously prohibited age group entered the temple on January 2

The Sabarimala head priest should have quit if he was not ready to accept the Supreme Court verdict, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today, criticising the priest for conducting "purification" rituals after two women entered the temple.

Kerala PWD Minister and CPI-M leader G Sudhakaran on Sunday slammed the Sabarimala temple tantri, or head priest, saying the donkeys in the temple town have more grace.

A contempt petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday against Bharatiya Janata Party's Kerala state president PS Sreedharan Pillai, Sabarimala Temple priest and three others for not implementing the top court's order.

The priest had allegedly posted abusive comments against the minister after BJP state general secretary K Surendran was arrested by police as he defied police orders not to go to the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

With the annual pilgrimage season just weeks away, S Arun Kumar Namboothiri was selected on Thursday as the new Melsanthi (chief priest) of the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple.

A Christian priest in Kerala returned his church licence for performing pastoral services following a row over him observing the 41-day abstinence followed by Lord Ayyappa devotees to offer prayers at the famous Sabarimala shrine.

The Kerala High Court on Saturday held a special sitting to hear pleas on the appointment of the chief priests and transport facilities for pilgrims to the famous Sabarimala temple at Pathanamthitta district.

Welcoming Congress president Rahul Gandhi's decision to contest from Wayanad in Kerala, head priest CS Rangarajan at the popular Chilkur Balaji temple in Hyderabad said he was curious to know the opinion of the Congress chief on the Supreme Court judgement to allow women into the Sabarimala temple.

Kerala's Sabarimala temple will open to pilgrims tomorrow for an annual 10-day festival. A press release issued by the temple said head priest Kandararu Rajeevaru will preside over the opening ceremony. Ahead of the festival, a new gold-plated door will replace the old one made of teak wood.

The head priest of the Sabarimala temple today claimed that the 'purification' ritual followed at the shrine, on the day the two women below 50 years entered the temple, was for an unrelated reason.

Sabarimala's tantri Kantararu Rajeeveru today told the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) that he carried out "purification rituals" following the two women's entry, as that was "the natural practice followed whenever there is a breach of the temple tradition and customs".

Sabarimala temple custodian, the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB), today extended time to Tantri Kantararu Rajeeveru to explain why a "purification" ritual was conducted following the visit of two women devotees to the Lord Ayyappa shrine.

A senior Kerala minister today attacked the Sabarimala temple's Tantri (chief priest), calling him a "Brahmin monster" for conducting a ''purification'' ceremony after two women in the menstrual age group entered the shrine

The Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) -- custodians of the Sabarimala temple today decided to seek an explanation from Kantararu Rajeeveru, the temple tantri, as to why they conducted a "purification ritual" on Wednesday, said a TDB official

The Supreme Court will hear on January 22 a contempt plea against the Sabarimala temple tantri for shutting the sanctum for purification after two women belonging to the previously prohibited age group entered the temple on January 2

The Sabarimala head priest should have quit if he was not ready to accept the Supreme Court verdict, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today, criticising the priest for conducting "purification" rituals after two women entered the temple.

Kerala PWD Minister and CPI-M leader G Sudhakaran on Sunday slammed the Sabarimala temple tantri, or head priest, saying the donkeys in the temple town have more grace.

A contempt petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday against Bharatiya Janata Party's Kerala state president PS Sreedharan Pillai, Sabarimala Temple priest and three others for not implementing the top court's order.

The priest had allegedly posted abusive comments against the minister after BJP state general secretary K Surendran was arrested by police as he defied police orders not to go to the Lord Ayyappa shrine.