7 months ago
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The Supreme Court connected Thursday directed that Udayasthamana puja astatine the Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple successful Kerala indispensable beryllium conducted connected the auspicious time of Vrishchikam Ekadasi successful accordance with the temple’s age-old customs and traditions.
A Bench headed by Justice J.K. Maheshwari said the superior work of the Tantri was to safeguard and summation the vitality of the deity by adhering to the traditions and not change the day of the puja to suit the convenience of the worshippers. Referring to the Sri Venkateswara Swami temple astatine Tirupati, the Bench said traditions were followed without neglect contempt the immense unreserved of worshippers there.
The apex tribunal was proceeding a peculiar permission petition filed against a Kerala High Court determination of December 7 past twelvemonth dismissing a plea seeking directives to the respondents, including the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee, represented by elder advocator C.A. Sundaram and M.L. Jishnu, to execute the Udayasthamana puja connected Vrishchikam Ekadasi.
The petitioner, P.C. Hary, represented by elder advocator C.S. Vaidyanathan, K. Parameshwar and advocator A. Karthik, said the puja was a ineffable and integral portion of the temple’s ritualistic tradition. The petitioner argued that arsenic per the Panchangam for the twelvemonth 2025, the Guruvayur Vrishchikam Ekadasi falls connected December 1, 2025, a Monday.
“Petitioners person present reliably learnt that, erstwhile again, the respondents person taken a determination not to execute the Udayasthamana puja connected Vrishchikam Ekadasi, but connected immoderate different date, namely November 2, 2025 successful implicit disregard of established spiritual customs,” the petitioners submitted.
They submitted that the alteration successful the day was made contempt the apex tribunal having specifically observed connected December 11 past twelvemonth that “the illustration of the regular puja, arsenic disposable connected the website of Shri Guruvayurappan Temple, shall not beryllium changed oregon deleted until the adjacent day of listing.”
“Until 2023, the Udayasthamana puja was invariably performed connected Vrishchikam Ekadasi day, and it is lone during the past 2 years, 2024 and 2025, that the respondents person attempted to change this well-established spiritual practice. Such arbitrary decisions by the respondents onslaught astatine the precise basal of the accepted practices of the temple, which person been observed for respective centuries. The Udayasthamana puja connected Vrishchikam Ekadasi is not simply symbolic but a bid of astir 15-18 pujas that are conducted from sunrise to sunset,” the petitioners submitted.
