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Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 10 (IANS) With trouble already looming over gold plating at the famous Sabarimala temple and now the Kerala High Court ordering a criminal case, a fresh controversy broke out on Friday over the ‘yoga danda (ritual staff) and ‘Rudraksha mala’ adorning the idol of Ayyappa at Sabarimala, with new revelations linking the work to the son of a former senior Went. Temple official.
Now it has come to light that former Devaswom Board Chairman A. Padmakumar’s son Jaishankar Padman was entrusted with the work of gold plating and repairs on the Yoga Danda.
Padmakumar said that this work was done on the instructions of the Tantri (chief priest) of the temple.
“When the tantri asked who would do it, my son volunteered,” he said, adding that the work was done without taking the sacred staff out of the temple premises. However, doubts have been raised as to whether the mandatory approval from the Kerala High Court was taken for the work.
The controversy also involves the Rudraksha rosary and staff, which were taken from the sanctum sanctorum for gold plating as part of the Devaswom Board’s initiative in 2018.
There is no record confirming whether the same items were returned or not.
The Yoga Danda, which was originally donated by the Pandalam royal family, is a major ritual object placed on the idol after Harivarasanam. It holds deep spiritual and symbolic significance for devotees.
This revelation comes amid the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of the gold-plated Dwarapalaka Peethas, which were sponsored in 2019 and were later found unaccounted for.
The development has now linked the gold plating operations of two sensitive temples to a single team, raising fresh questions on accountability, record-keeping and monitoring in the management of sacred properties in one of Kerala’s most revered temples.
Now, with the SIT given six weeks to complete the entire investigation and submit its report to the High Court, all eyes are on whether it uncovers more lapses, as the role of Devaswom officials has so far come under suspicion. A temple official has been suspended.
–IANS
SG/DPB