SC Issues Notice To Kerala Temple Committee After Decision To Discontinue Ancient Ritual

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine a petition challenging the Kerala High Court’s ruling that upheld the Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple administration’s decision to discontinue the ancient “udayasthamana pooja” ritual on Ekadasi.

A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal issued a notice to the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee, the Kerala government, and other parties involved in the December 7 order.

The bench noted that, for the time being, the temple’s schedule for daily pooja, as displayed on its website, should remain unchanged. “We can’t intervene now. We will issue notice to the other side. Prima facie we are satisfied,” the bench remarked.

The “udayasthamana pooja” is a long-standing ritual involving continuous worship from sunrise (udaya) to sunset (asthamana) at temples. The administration of Guruvayur Temple recently decided to discontinue the ritual on Ekadasi, citing challenges in crowd management and the desire to offer more time for devotees to have darshan (viewing of the deity).

The petitioners, P C Harry and other family members with priestly rights at the temple, argued that Ekadasi holds immense religious significance for the temple and that the udayasthamana pooja has been conducted for centuries, including on Ekadasi, with formalization since 1972.

They further argued that the ritual, which was structured by Adi Sankaracharya, is integral to the temple’s spiritual practices, and any disruption of this tradition could impair the divine presence, or “Chaitanya.”

Court’s decision to review the case highlights the importance of preserving religious customs and addresses the concerns of devotees regarding changes to long-standing rituals at the temple.

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