On the November 17 in Kerala this year, the Sabarimala Dharma Sastha Temple of Lord Ayyappa opened for its annual pilgrimage season.

This period lasts for 41 days — known in Malayalam as the Mandala period — and begins on the first day of the Vrischika month in the regional calendar, which falls in the middle of November.

Around 75,000 to 100,000 pilgrims visit the shrine daily during this time. The pilgrims are mostly men, as women devotees between the ages of 10 and 50 are not permitted to enter the shrine because the deity is believed to be a celibate. Before their visit, pilgrims are expected to follow a ritually disciplined way of life that includes wearing a mala, dressing in black attire, observing regular morning and evening prayers, maintaining a strictly vegetarian diet, abstaining from alcohol and sex, and living almost like an ascetic.

Traditionally, a pilgrim is required to follow this discipline for 41 days before visiting the shrine. In recent times, however, the full 41-day observance is viewed as stricter, and many people take a more flexible approach — some of them very flexible. Having completed the necessary rituals, pilgrims embark on the journey in small groups under the leadership of a senior devotee, respectfully addressed as the Guruswamy.

The temple, located on top of the Sabarimala hill in the Western Ghats of Kerala, is one of the most famous temples in the state and the highest revenue-generating, with its earnings increasing each year. Last season alone, the temple brought in around Rs 440 crore. This is apart from the revenue generated by various ancillary services, such as lodging, restaurants, and other temple-related offerings that thrive during the pilgrimage season.

This year, the temple opens in the midst of a scandal involving a systematic ‘theft’ that allegedly took place there. In 1998, liquor baron Mr. Vijay Mallya, an ardent devotee of Lord Ayyappa, donated a large quantity of gold (32 kg) to the temple for covering several parts of the sanctum sanctorum. After securing approval from the Kerala High Court, the authorities proceeded with the project, and the roof of the sanctum, the sanctum door, and several pillars were covered in gold.

In 2019, the temple authorities claimed that the gold had begun to lose its shine and removed the plates, recording in their books that ‘copper sheets’ had been taken out without clarifying that these sheets were actually gold-covered, before sending them for polishing. The polished plates were returned and reinstalled, and it has now been discovered, after an intervention from the court, that the total weight of the gold is significantly less than that of the plates originally sent.

The case is still under investigation, and the Devasom Commissioner and the Devasom Board President at the time of the incident, both of whom held significant power and authority, are already under arrest.

Such........

© News18