Click to play videoThiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Thantri (head priest) of Sabarimala is likely to take legal action against Kannada actress-turned-producer Jayamala and a national daily.
Jayamala had claimed to have entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple and touched the feet of the idol of Lord Ayyappa 19 years ago.
Her claims were made in a letter to the chief astrologer of the temple.
Jayamala's confessions came after a group of astrologers claimed that in the last 18 years, a woman's touch had violated the sanctity of the temple.
If the actress' claim is true, then, according to the temple authorities, it amounts to sacrilege.
Legend says, Lord Ayyappa had vowed to remain a bachelor. Citing the lore, entry of women between the age of 10 and 55 has been banned in the temple.
In 1991, a High Court endorsed the temple "to maintain its sanctity". Hence, if a woman enters the temple, it is considered sacrilege and amounts to defiling the idol.
Jayamala claims she was "pushed" into the sanctum sanctorum by the crowd and she caught hold of the idol's feet to steady herself.
However, it's unclear how the actress could have reached the sanctum sanctorum without the then Thantri Brahmasri Kantaru Maheswararu's approval.
Also, Jayamala's claims that she fell at the idol's feet after being pushed by the crowd seem very unlikely, because there is a distance of 21 feet between the idol and where the crowd stands.
Meanwhile, the Thantri claims that he is disturbed and has refuted all allegations.
Swearing by Lord Ayyappa, he says, "It's not possible that a woman can enter the sanctum sanctorum amidst such heavy security. And I am not lying."
Both the Thantri and the Travancore Devaswom Board are utterly baffled by her claim and the government of Kerala is going in for a judicial probe into the matter.
"Nobody stopped me. If they had then I would have stayed in the compound only. Why should I go inside if someone tells me to stop? The crowd pushed me, there were so many people along with me. I fell down and I caught hold of the God's feet. It was so beautiful," says Jayamala.
Jayamala insists that she did not know then that what she was doing was wrong and that she had touched the feet of the idol because that was how they prayed at home.
She added she had later realised what she had done amounted to sin and had thus faxed an apology to the concerned authorities.
Though the issue is going to be a sensitive one, it's going to be difficult for the state government to come to a conclusion because the incident took place in 1987.
The devotees, some of them who visit the temple on the first of every month, are extremely disturbed by the incident.
Before devotees go to the temple, they undergo staunch penance for 41 days and their belief is that no woman can come into the temple.
Controversy surrounding women's entry to Sabirimala is not new.
A few years ago, actress Sudha Chandran had performed a dance programme below the 18 holy steps of the temple leading to a hue and cry.
After the dance performance, the Kerala High Court asked the Travancore Devaswom to disallow women from climbing the hill to the shrine.
Temple Security |
 Police personnel are appointed at the base of the temple to stop women from climbing the hill. |
| The next rung of security is provided by the temple guards. |
| The third rung is the devotees themselves who stop women from defiling their lord. |
| The last rung of the security are the priests. |
| The sanctum sanctorum itself is 10 feet long so even if one falls at its base one cannot reach the idol. |
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