ശ്രീ
With the recent developments and problems happening in Sree
Poornathayeesha Temple, Tripunithura, I thought of going through 20 years of
works conducted by Cochin Devasom Board (CDB), the current custodian of the
temple and Sree Poornathrayeesha Seva Sangom, a trust created in late 1960’s to
conduct Valiya Utsavom.
As a Slave (aTima) of Lord Poornathrayeesa and as a member
of Cochin Royal Family, who handed over the temple to the Indian Dominion in
1949, I believe I have all rights to perform an analysis of CDB and Seva Sangom
initiatives. All opinions detailed below are solely from my thoughts and
analysis.
In past 20 years, Seva Sangom and CDB have made lot of
modifications to the structure, procedures, processes and rituals of the
temple, starting with Deva Prashnam. So, let me detail some of the changes that
were done. Some of them has created an environment of concern for real devotees
of Lord Sree Poornathrayeesha, and not to the power hungry, selfish, jealous
and egoistic people. This is creating a situation similar to what happened in
Vadakkumnathan Temple in 18th century and Peruvanam Mahakshetram
before that.
Below, I will be just highlighting prime reasons on how I
arrived at conclusions and leave a detailed report for some time in near
future. Also, we should keep in mind that Devasom Officer (representative of
CDB in the temple) is just another puppet (of late) in the hands of Seva Sangom
(I have seen an incident in person to prove this), a body which could exist
only as long as any construction happen in the temple, as per the judiciary of
India.
- Sree Kovil (Sanctum Santorum) ceiling changed to
wood - To change the first concreate
Sree Kovil in Kerala was an unnecessary waste of crores of rupees for nothing
in return. Even though the reason mentioned was that there were some damages to
the concreate (which could have been fixed by simple repairs), the primary
reason to change from concreate ceiling to wood was the heat inside the Sanctum
Santorum. After reconstruction, the concerned people who perform rituals inside
the sanctum sanctorum have personally told me that the heat has just doubled.
Also, not to mention the miscalculations and wrong construction (Dr. Ashalatha
Thampuran’s detailed report on this) that was undertaken. I also wonder if
someone has audited the accounts for this reconstruction, I will be surprised
if there was an audit. My verdict – Unnecessary waste of money for nothing in
return. Keeping this in mind,
I would have a full audit of the works undertaken, clearly knowing that the
current President of Seva Sangom is a Chartered Accountant. Not to mention the
damages to the beliefs and rituals of the temple.
- Namaskara Mandapam ceiling changed to wood -
Again, one of the first concrete Mandapam in Kerala. This reconstruction, as
per my knowledge, was due to the wrong construction of Sreekovil. Even the
reconstruction of Namaskara Mandapam has its flaws. The last I heard was that
there are lot of leaks during rain and misappropriations in the design. My
Verdict – Unnecessary and unwanted costs incurred upon the devotees for
personal (in this case, an organisation) gains.
- New Gold Kolam for the god – An antique and
archaeological item was destroyed by Seva Sangom and Devasom Board to build an
ugly new one. This was such an unnecessary change. The beautiful old Kolam was
so exquisitely created, which person with a good mind will try to destroy it
and build an ugly new one. My Verdict – I was told in my childhood that the
Golden Kolam had very precious stones. I hope they are still there in the new
one. I would like someone perform audit on this.
- Golden Nettipattom – There was no need to do
this and I am not saying much about this as the matter is\was in courts. My
Verdict – Why do you need to change such a magnificent and glorious
nettipattom? What is the logic? Cochin Devasom Board and Seva Sangom has to
explain this. There was no damage to this centuries old antique. Is this just
to erase all identities of Cochin Royal Family in the temple?
- Crown\Kireedom of Sree Poornathrayeesa – After
Cochin Royal Family repaired the Kireedom of Sree Poornathrayeesha in 2005, in
2007 the weight of Kireedom was said to be 60 grams lesser that what was
weighed in 2005. There were initial indications to blame the Cochin Royal
Family for this, but the whole repair by Goldsmith happened inside the temple
in presence of 2 officials from Cochin Devasom Board. What happened after that
in those 2 years? Nobody knows. My Verdict – Cochin Devasom Board officials has
to answer this and remove all doubts from the mind of devotees.
- Wrestled the possession of nearby land
(oottupura parambu) from Government for temple use – This was a very good
initiative from Seva Sangom. My Verdict – As long as the land is used for
purpose of the temple and not for building a shopping complex, this is good.
- Sree Hari - Nothing to explain. My Verdict
– Again, a complete eyewash on the devotees, with Seva Sangom collecting amount
saying that Sree Poornathrayeesha needed an elephant for daily rituals. Now,
Seva Sangom is collecting money which actually should have been going to the
temple. Even though Seva Sangom could line up judgements, for me, this is a day
light robbery of devotees.
- The Gold and other valuables missing from the
vault\strong room – Cochin Devasom Board has to answer to the public and Cochin
Royal Family about the missing valuables which was presented to Lord Sree
Poornathrayeesha by devotees and erstwhile Cochin Royal Family. My Verdict -
CDB has not done anything to clarify the doubts and concerns. Have the
officials of the government body cheated the devotees? I clearly feel so.
The destruction of artefacts, antiques and history by CDB
and Seva Sangom could be compared to ISIS destroying historical monuments in Syria. But here, these are friendly people are trying to remove traces
of some great people and minds, who before them, had protected and modified a
rich cultural heritage for centuries. I wish they don’t blow up the temple to
see if there are some treasures buried underneath.
I feel it is time some of us thought about the covenant
signed in 1949 by a certain noble heart in front of V.P Menon. The way the
temple is being administered right now, I fear for the future.
With the paid media not highlighting such daylight robberies,
I wish to say that I have changed my mind about the treasures of Sri
Padmanabhaswamy temple. The treasure should stay inside the temple and should
be under the supervision of Travancore Royal Family.
This reminds me of a prose from purushartha-koothu,
നന്നായ്
വിളക്കു,
തിരുനേദ്യഘൃതാഭിഷേകം.
കൂത്തോത്തു,
പാട്ട്,
തിരുവുത്സവമെന്നിതെല്ലാം
മാറ്റിക്കളഞ്ഞു
നിജസന്തതിയെക്കെടുപ്പാ-
നൂരാളരെന്നു
ചില
രാക്ഷസർ
സഞ്ചരന്തി.
Synopsis: The Owners
of temples in Kerala usually decide on day to day affairs of the temple they
own. Not only they do not perform any rituals for pleasing the gods, they also
stop others from doing it. They have stopped the daily offerings (Lamps,
Nivedyam, Neyyabhishekam, Koothu, Othu, Paattu, Utsavom etc.). There is no
particular reason for this, just for destroying their lineage. They do things
which Demons do, that is hurt Gods.
In this prose, the owner (CDB and Seva Sangom) of a temple
is being compared to a Demon (രാക്ഷസർ).
Below is a
prose which occurred to me.
സേവാസംഘമെന്നും
ദേവസ്വമെന്നും നാമം
പക്ഷേ സ്വസ്സേവയും സ്വസ്സ്വവും പരിണാമം
അജയ്യനായ
വിചാരിപ്പിനു നാവില്ല, മാങ്കായിൽ മന്നന് നാണമില്ല
സ്വേച്ഛക്കായ് നശിപ്പിക്കുന്നു, പൂർണ്ണവേദപുരാധീശ:
പാഹി: പാഹി:
പാതു: പൂർണ്ണത്രയീശ:
