The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) on Wednesday informed the Kerala High Court that the Devaswom Commissioner’s recommendation that Sabarimala Senior Thantri Kandararu Maheswararu needed the assistance of his son Kandararu Mohanararu for performing tantric rites at Sabarimala temple was misplaced and without merit.
The TDB filed the additional affidavit in response to a petition filed by Kandararu Maheswararu, seeking permission to take the assistance of his son in performing tantric rites at Sabarimala.
The Board said it is not bound to accept the recommendation of Devaswom Commissioner P Venugopal in totality. The Justice Paripoornan Commssion had not expressed any opinion regarding the view that knowledge in tantric rites and performance of daily poojas by the petitioner’s son was misplaced. The contention of the petitioner that his son is acting as a tantri in over 50 temples administered by the board and, therefore, he should be permitted to assist the petitioner at Sabarimala had no foundation, the TDB said. The performance of tantric rites in these 50 temples would not be equated with performing duties at Sabarimala, it said. The Paripoornan Commission had categorically found that for a proper practice of pooja or pooja vidhis, a minimum knowledge and understanding of Sanskrit is necessary as otherwise the same could not be performed in proper, traditional and Vedic way.
Therefore, the statement of the petitioner that his son had acquired knowledge in pooja and pooja vidhis could not be accepted. No material was produced to show that the petitioner’s son had acquired the necessary qualification prescribed by the Paripoornan Commission. The statement of the petitioner that devotees, Hindu organisations and general public have no objection to the request cannot be accepted since till date the Board has not received any request other than that of the thantri.
It also said the claim of the petitioner that there has been no controversy could not be accepted in view of the pendency of appeals against the order convicting the accused in a blackmailing case. The case was registered on Mohanararu’s complaint that he had been held hostage by a six-member gang at a flat in Kochi and was forcibly photographed with women and was being blackmailed.