Cochin Devaswom tells Kerala HC no devotee washed 12 Brahmins’ ft at Tripunithura temple; says ‘thantri’ does it below a ritual

By Express News Service

KOCHI: The Cochin Devaswom Board on Friday knowledgeable the Kerala High Court that the information report alleging devotees on the Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, Tripunithura, have been made to clean the ft of 12 Brahmins for the atonement of sins was incorrect.

The Board clarified that it’s the ‘thantri’ (head priest), who wash the ft of 12 pujaris of Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, in reference to the ‘Panthrandu Namaskaram’ ritual.

The Board additionally determined to rename the ‘vazhipadu’ (providing) on the temples to ‘samaradhana’, it was knowledgeable.

When the suo motu proceedings on the ritual being carried out within the Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple got here up for listening to, Advocate Okay P Sudheer submitted that the information report is towards the related provisions of the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act in addition to the observe being adopted in Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple. As per Section 73 A of the Act it’s the responsibility of the Board to see that the common conventional rites are carried out strictly based on the observe prevalent within the non secular establishment, it stated.

The rituals and ceremonies within the temple of Sree Poornathrayeesa at Tripunithura are “trite law” however they shall proceed to be executed as adhered to below the Ruler of Cochin, the counsel stated.

As per this, the devotees are usually not made to clean the ft of Brahmins within the ‘Panthrandu Namaskaram’ ritual in Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple. It is the ‘thantri’, who wash the ft of 12 pujaris of Sree Poornathrayeesa Temple, in reference to the ritual, the Board had earlier stated on February 8.

Earlier, primarily based on the information report, the state authorities had sought clarifications from the Devaswom Board. Then the Board requested the Assistant Commissioner, Tripunithura Devaswom, and the Devaswom officer to seek out the actual fact of the matter. Apart from that, the Cochin Devaswom Board convened a gathering with the members of Akhila Thanthri Samajam on February 11, and when it comes to the assembly a choice was taken to rename ‘vazhipadu’ as ‘samaradhana’, it was knowledgeable. The choice was additionally communicated to the state authorities.

Meanwhile, the Sree Raghavapuram Sabhayogam and All Kerala Tanthri Mandalam additionally approached the court docket in search of to get themselves to implead within the suo motu case. A Division Bench comprising Justice Anil Okay Narendran and Justice PG Ajith Kumar allowed the petitions. The court docket will hear the case on March 4.