Sabarimala priest who performed 'purification' ritual a 'Brahmin monster', symbol of the caste devil, says Kerala minister

Kochi: A senior Kerala minister on Saturday attacked the Sabarimala temple’s tantri (chief priest), calling him a “Brahmin monster” for conducting a ‘purification’ ceremony after two women in the menstrual age group entered the shrine. The women, Kanakadurga, 44, and Bindu, 42, entered the shrine and offered prayers on Wednesday, breaking a centuries-old tradition. Following this, the tantri, Kandaru Rajeevaru, closed the sanctum sanctorum to perform the ‘purification’ ceremony. Kerala public works department minister and senior CPM leader G Sudhakaran asked whether a man who treated “a sister as impure” can be considered human. [caption id=“attachment_5826321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Protesters carry a picture of Lord Ayyappa at a demonstration after two women entered the Sabarimala temple in Kochi in southern Kerala. AFP[/caption] “The tantri is a symbol of the caste devil. He is not a Brahmin. He is a Brahmin monster. If a Brahmin becomes a monster, he will be a terror,” he told reporters in Kochi. “He is not a ‘shuddha (pure) Brahmin’. He does not have any love, respect and allegiance towards Lord Ayyappa.” Kanakadurga and Bindu had entered the hallowed precincts guarded by police. Their entry into the shrine came three months after the Supreme Court’s historic judgment lifting the ban on the entry of girls and women between 10 to 50 years of age into the hilltop shrine of Lord Ayyappa — the eternally celibate deity. Despite the court’s ruling, which came on 28 September last year, no one from the ‘barred’ age group was able to offer prayers at the shrine because of frenzied protests by devotees and right-wing outfits.