After the ban on entry of women of a certain age bracket into the shrine
of Sabarimala temple in Kerala lifted by the Supreme court. Large number of
women belonging to hindu community on Saturday (29 September) offered prayers
in Tamil Nadu pledging that they would only visit the shrine after they cross 50
Age. This oath was taken by devotees of the Bharat Hindu Munnani at
Gangadeeswara Temple.
Hindu
Makkal Katchi chief Arjun Sampath said to PTI., 'Light Lamp' prayer meetings
were held by his outfit in several temples in places including Coimbatore,
Cuddalore and Tirupur.
"These are
prayer meetings to reaffirm our faith in our customs. In such meetings, women
visit temples only in accordance with our beliefs,"
He added that the women took a pledge to worship at the shrine only when
they reach the age set accordingly as per customs and beliefs. Till than these
women are ready to wait, this process of waiting is known as ‘Kathiruppom’.
As part of maintaining the age of old tradition, signatures were collected,
and these will be given to the Travancore Devaswom Board, which is the
administering body of the shrine.