Supreme Court to examine plea against not holding puja at Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple

With the temple deciding to discontinue the ancient ritual of 'udayasthamana pooja', the apex court made it clear that the chart of daily puja should not be altered.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to examine a plea against an order passed by the Kerala High Court in favour of the administration of the Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple, which decided to discontinue the ancient ritual of "udayasthamana puja" on Ekadasi. 

Udayasthamana puja refers to the various worship conducted in temples throughout the day from sunrise (udaya) to sunset (asthamana).

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal issued notice to the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee, Kerala government, and others on the plea. The bench made it clear that the chart of daily puja displayed on the temple's website should not be altered.

"We can't intervene now. We'll issue a notice to the other side. Prima facie we're satisfied,” the bench said.

The court however asked how the puja was stopped on the ground of causing inconvenience to the public as puja is for the deity. A plea was filed by P C Hary and other members of the family with priestly rights in the shrine, contending that "Ekadashi" was the most important festival of the temple.

"Guruvayur Sree Krishna Swamy Temple is one of the most sacred Maha Vishnu Temple. It is also known as the Dwarka of the South. It is believed that Guruvayoor temple's unique "Aacharams" (traditions), daily rituals, pooja Sambradayas and puja timings are streamlined by Adi Sankaracharya and the same is religiously and systematically observed. It is believed that any disturbance or deviation from these rituals, pujas, and ceremony will impair the manifestations of divine force or Chaitanya of Guruvayoor Temple," the plea said.

It pointed out said udayasthamana puja is a series of nearly 15-18 pujas that are conducted from sunrise to sunset. “It is an admitted fact that, since 1972, the Guruvayur Devaswom is conducting Udayasthamana pooja on Ekadasi day. It is the specific case of the Petitioner that the pooja has been conducted even prior to 1972, on the same day i.e. Ekadasi," the plea said.

The plea said the non-performance of Udayasthamana puja on the Shuklapaksham day in Vrishchikam is against the established religious custom, ritual and usage followed in the Guruvayur Temple.

It is believed by the devotees that the said act is a bad omen and may impair the manifestations of divine force or Chaitanya of the temple, it added.

The plea said the important religious decisions in temples are taken through astrological consultations, known as Ashtamangalyapreshnam (astrological consultations), and more than seven astrologers will participate in the Ashtamangalyapreshnam.

"It is conducted openly within the Temple premises in the presence of Ooralan, devotees, temple employees, kazhakam, general public, and all other stakeholders. Each and every point placed per consultation ought to be subjected to critical analysis by the astrologers based on planetary movements and other signs. Before taking such an important decision, the Respondents ought to have followed the said process," the plea said.

The temple administration recently decided not to conduct the ritual on Ekadasi, citing difficulties over crowd management and the desire to allow more devotees time for darshan.