In what looks like an attempt to destroy Hindu rituals and communal harmony in the area, graffiti was seen scribbled inside a temple. The incident happened at Perunthra Bhagavathy Temple near Vamanapuram in Thiruvananthapuram district. The acronym SDPI was scribbled in English on the walls, the bronze-clad bali kallu (altar stone) was defiled using something black, the walls of the shrine painted in green, and a similar colored powder strewn inside the temple. The temple is governed by the government-controlled Travancore Devaswom Board.
These specially arranged altar stones are considered very important in temple science. They are considered the guardians of God offering protection from eight directions. It is widely believed that the Gandharvas, the embodiment of emotions, affect us when the energy circles around God are constantly rotating.
Energy flows from them all the time. Sacrifice stones are the energy carriers of the divine spirit. This energy that surrounds the murti should not be broken as energy is constantly flowing through these stones. When one touches or tramples the altar stone, the flow of energy from one altar stone to another is cut off.
The bali kallu is considered so sacred that even if someone steps on it unknowingly, devotees refrain from the ritual of touching it with their right hand and then paying respect. During circumambulation, the stones should be on the right side, except during Shiva-Darshan when they should be on one’s left side while returning in a semi-circle.
Following protest and complaints by devotees, the police have registered an FIR and have promised to investigate. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also come out strongly against the incident.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) is an Islamist feeder organization of the Popular Front of India (PFI). This incident comes at a time when the chorus to urgently ban them is at its height. Their leaders have been found to have incited communal hatred resulting in many of them being arrested and put behind bars both in Kerala and all over Bharat.
The SDPI meanwhile denied any role in this incident and their leaders met the temple committee members. They added that they have no party workers in Perunthra. They have also appealed to the Rural Superintendent of Police to find the culprits and bring them to book adding that this was done to spoil their image. As usual, they tried to blame the Sangh Parivar for this desecration.
Incidentally, just after the local body elections, in January of this year, the area had seen a Congress and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) confrontation. Though they are both alliance partners, a fight ensued for a Panchayat vice-president position which ended in violence where the Congress cadre attacked the IUML area president’s house. The IUML had recommended someone, but Congress replaced his name with someone else from the IUML and awarded him the seat.
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