The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to review a plea challenging the Kerala High Court’s decision which allowed the Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple’s managing committee to discontinue the ancient ritual of “udayasthamana pooja” on ekadasi. Justices J K Maheshwari and Rajesh Bindal issued notices to the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee, the Kerala government, and other related parties.
The temple administration recently chose to stop conducting the “udayasthamana pooja” on ekadasi, a day considered highly sacred within the temple traditions, due to difficulties in managing large crowds and to facilitate more time for devotees to have darshan. This ritual involves continuous worship from sunrise to sunset and is deeply embedded in the temple’s religious practices.
The Supreme Court’s intervention came after a petition was filed by P C Harry along with other family members who hold priestly rights at the shrine. They argued that ekadasi is the most significant festival for the temple, and that the udayasthamana pooja has been a longstanding tradition since 1972, though its origins date back even further.
The petitioners highlighted that the rituals were organized by Adi Sankaracharya and expressed concerns that any alteration might affect the divine manifestations or “Chaitanya” believed to be present in the temple.
While the Supreme Court has directed that the current daily pooja schedule displayed on the temple’s website remain unchanged, it expressed initial satisfaction with the ongoing situation but decided to seek further details from the temple committee and the state government before making any judicial decisions.
