THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kandararu Brahmadathan of the Thazhamon Madhom will be the new Sabarimala tantri. He will assume charge on the first day of the Malayalam month of Chingam and will continue in the position for a year.
The Travancore Devaswom Board meeting chaired by TDB president K Jayakumar and attended by members K Raj and P D Santhosh Kumar, took the decision to appoint Brahmadathan, son of former Sabarimala tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, as the new tantri. The board will convey its decision to the High Court on Monday.
Earlier this month Kandararu Rajeevaru had approached the Board seeking to step down as tantri citing ill health. He had also proposed replacing himself with his son. Following this the Board constituted a three-member expert panel to check whether Brahmadathan has specialised knowledge in tantric rituals and traditions.
The panel comprising Akkeeraman Kalidasan Bhattathiripad, Kuzhikkattu Agnisarman Vasudevan Bhattathirippad and Kadiyakkol Subramanyan Namboodiri, submitted its recommendations to the board on Friday.
The panel informed the Board that Brahmadathan has studied tantric rituals and served with his father in Sabarimala. Following this, the TDB meeting on Saturday made the decision.