By IANS
Guruvayoor (Kerala) : A change in the dress code for women entering Kerala’s famed Sree Krishna Guruvayoor temple has apparently annoyed the deity, according to an astrologer conducting rituals in the temple.
Speaking to IANS, temple manager Vijayan Nambiar said that astrologer Padmanabha Sharma while conducting the ashtamangalaya devaprasanam (astrological consultations) Sunday said that the deity was unhappy over the entry of women in salwar-kameez.
Temple authorities July 26, after detailed consultations with the temple priests, gave the nod to allow a change in dress code. Earlier, women were only allowed to wear a sari to the temple.
“See, these statements are being made based on what happened today (Sunday) when a ritual was taking place. When he (Sharma) asked for a piece of cloth to be brought, the cloth was cut into two pieces while he wanted an uncut cloth. Sharma made the comments after seeing this,” said Nambiar.
Since Oct 31, a team of nine people, including the temple priests, has been engaged in the rituals and prayers to find out whether the Gods are happy or not. The ritual is being held in Guruvayoor temple after 17 years.
“The rituals began 31st and these priests give out their opinions as and when they go ahead with their rituals. These are all preliminary findings and when their entire rituals get over in another 10 days’ time, they would come out with a full fledged report on what are all the changes required to make the deity happy,” said Nambiar.
Lately, Kerala’s most famous temple has been in news for all the wrong reasons.
In June, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), staged what it called the “second Guruvayoor satyagraha”, calling for a revival of renaissance values.
The same day, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) undertook all-women, daylong fast to protest the CPI-M’s demand to bring about legislation to open up Kerala’s temples to all devotees regardless of their religion.
State BJP president P.K. Krishnadas said that a political party need not comment on ritualistic decisions.
“The very fact that a devaprasanam is being held indicates that there are some issues. Those who are doing the rituals are the best people to come out with a solution, and it is for them and not for political parties to make decisions,” said Krishnadas.