Information has come out that a Muslim woman from Manakkad entered the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram. Following the visit of a non-Hindu woman just before the Alpashi Aarattu festival, the temple Tantri ordered to re-perform the Mannuneer Koral ceremony, which is held before the flag off of the Alpashi festival.

According to the custom of the Padmanabha Swamy temple, only Hindu devotees are allowed to enter the temple. If non-Hindus want to enter the temple and offer prayers, they must give an affidavit that they believe in Sanatana Dharma.

The Muslim woman reached the temple yesterday evening. She was identified by a person in the temple who knew her earlier. Then, the temple authorities were informed, and when questioned, she admitted that she was an Islamist. The lady was then expelled from the temple.

After this, the temple Tantri suggested re-performing the temple ceremonies, including Dravyakalasha​ and Mannu Neer Koral,​ which are done before the flag hoisting. As a part of this, rituals, including propitiatory rituals, have started in the temple. Propitiation appeases a deity, thus incurring divine favor or avoiding divine retribution.

The Mannu Neer Koral ceremony is a holy ritual in which soil and water are drawn from the Mithranandapuram Temple Pond to sprout new grains seven days before the festival. This earth is brought to the temple and handed over to the Tantri. The Tantri and his assistants sprinkle new grains on the soil and perform daily puja for the sprouting grains.

As per the schedule, the Alpasi festival will be held from the 14th, followed by the Valiya Kanikka on the 21st, and a Palli Vetta will be held on the 22nd. For security reasons, a special pass has been issued from the temple for devotees accompanying the Aarat procession.

The Alpassi festival is marked by the circumambulation in the various Vahanas of the presiding deity, Anantha Padmanabhan. This is followed by the Palli Vetta on the penultimate day and Arattu on the final day, on which the image of the deity is taken out of the temple as a procession.

The Arattu procession culminates at the Arattu Mandapam on the Shanmugham beach, where the Arattu or the Holy Bath is performed. The Arattu ritual is also performed for the Painguni Festival and the Alpashi Festival.

In a ceremony held at Poojappura Central Jail for Kodiyet, Temple Manager B. Sreekumar accepted the flag from Jail Joint Superintendent Alshan. For many years, the inmates of Poojappura Central Jail have been fasting for a month and making rope flags using yarn. On the 14th, the Tantri will hoist the flag.

Why Temple Autonomy?

Abrahamics have long tried to disrupt Hindu traditions and convert Hindus who arrived at Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple to seek Bhagwan Vishnu’s blessings. In August, HinduPost reported how members of an evangelical cult engaged in religious conversion efforts near the western entrance of the renowned temple.

In September 2022, two non-local Islamist anti-national elements named Mohammad Hassan (21) and Shahrukh Ali (30) ran an establishment barely 30 meters from the temple. Local news reports alleged a deep controversy over the transfer of shops in the locality to non-Hindus. The accused transferred and received money from Pakistan under the cloak of gambling.

Later that year, Andhra Pradesh natives celebrated Christmas by lighting candles inside the temple on a Sunday. They came under the guise of a Kuchupudi team from Vijayawada and cheated Hindus. They lighted candles near the Mandapam and started dancing. Forget lighting; candles are not even allowed inside Kerala temples.

In 2019, Ramachandran Street, the approach road to the temple, was a highly congested area due to the road and footpath being encroached by unauthorized vendors, causing acute roadblocks. The communist regime declared the entire zone a highly protected heritage zone but did not take steps to clear this road. Conditions around the temple and its surroundings remain the same.

Citing the COVID pandemic, the Padmatheertham, the sacred rectangular temple pond, had become a garbage dumping yard by March this year. The Temple Management Committee did not clean the pond, even during the Painkuni festival. 

Non-Hindu traders around the temple dispose of plastic and animal waste in the sacred water body. Hindu devotees came forward to clean the pond before the Painkuni festival and arranged all the necessary preparations. Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple authorities refused the offer. 

A spot check in 2019 by former CAG Vinod Rai showed that the temple owned significantly less land than the 5.72 acres shown in the records. The temple’s administrators were not even aware of the encroachments. There was no lease or rent arrangement, not even for the property owned and rented. From 2008 on, these tenants appeared to be defaulters.

There ought to have been at least 1,166 gold pots in stock after 822 gold pots were melted for decoration. However, there were only 397 gold pots. Consequently, there was a deficit of 769 gold pots totaling 776 kg. Another strange occurrence was the presence of gold plating equipment.

In September 2021, the Administrative Committee of Kerala’s Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple informed the Supreme Court that the temple faced financial difficulty with unmet expenses, as offerings were ‘insufficient.’

Most Hindus recommend Temple autonomy, but the government is unwilling to free our temples.