THRISSUR: Purification rituals will be held at the Guruvayur temple on Tuesday after a non-Hindu vlogger ‘defiled’ its pond by stepping into it for recording reels. Vlogger Jasmin Jaffar shared a video on her social media handles, showing her in front of the entrance of the Sree Krishna Temple and also splashing water in the nearby temple pond — the venue of the deity’s Arattu during the yearly festival.
The episode sparked controversy. Jasmin deleted the reels immediately and published an open apology on social media.
The devaswom decided to hold purification rituals. As many as 18 poojas would be held as part of the rituals which will commence at 5 am on Tuesday and are expected to last till afternoon. Entry of devotees inside the temple will be restricted until the completion of the rituals.
According to Bijeshkumar M, a devotee and president of Guruvayur Kshethra Rakhsa Samithi, “It was total neglect on the part of security guards that resulted in such a situation. There is an armed guard near the Kalavara beside the pond. There is a woman security staff at the entrance of the portion of the pond for women. Yet, none of them saw the shooting, which is already a violation of the High Court order.”
He urged the devaswom to restore the boards warning restriction of entry to the temple and surroundings for non-Hindus. “There were boards in the west entrance and east entrance of the temple. A board used to be there in front of the pond barring entry to non-Hindus.
All of these were taken away, which resulted in such a situation. People maybe aware of entry restriction inside the temple for non-Hindus. But pond is located outside and chances are high that non-Hindus use it without understanding its importance,” he added.
As per the High Court order, recording visuals for reels and commercial purposes has been restricted in front of the temple and surroundings.
Guruvayur temple police station is yet to register a case though the devaswom filed a complaint. The complaint has been forwarded to the magistrate and the case will be considered on Tuesday in Chavakkad Magistrate court. Guruvayur devaswom chairman V K Vijayan said, “It’s the devaswom’s duty to ensure the sanctity of the temple and the purification rituals will be conducted as per the Tantric rituals. The devaswom will meet the expenses.”