Sankaran Namboothiri selected as Sabarimala chief priest ahead of pilgrimage season

• Areekkara Subrahmanyan Sankaran Namboothiri has been selected as Sabarimala’s new chief priest through a draw of lots.

• A Damodaran Namboothiri will become chief priest of the nearby Malikappuram Devi Temple.

• Both will begin their one-year tenures on 16 November, ahead of the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.

Areekkara Subrahmanyan Sankaran Namboothiri was selected as the new melsanthi, or chief priest, of the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple on Sunday, ahead of the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.

A Damodaran Namboothiri was chosen as chief priest of the Malikappuram Devi Temple, situated around 100 metres from the Sabarimala shrine.

Officials said the draw of lots took place after the dawn pooja. Seven candidates were in contention for the Sabarimala position.

Both priests will assume charge on 16 November for one year, a day before the Sabarimala temple opens for the pilgrimage season.

Sabarimala has been a political flashpoint in Kerala since the Supreme Court’s 2018 verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the shrine. The previous Left-led government’s efforts to implement the ruling faced protests from Hindu organisations and the BJP, with the Congress also opposing its handling of the issue.

The confrontation brought questions of faith, tradition and gender equality to the centre of the state’s political debate.

Sankaran Namboothiri, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, currently serves as chief priest of the capital’s Pazhavangadi Ganapathi Temple. Damodaran Namboothiri, from Vadakara in Kozhikode district, holds the corresponding position at the Lord Siva Temple in Keezhur, Payyoli.

Speaking after his selection, Sankaran Namboothiri said he was delighted and had been hopeful of securing the appointment. His name had appeared near the bottom of the list on previous occasions, he recalled, but was listed first this time.

He attributed the selection to the blessings of Lord Ganapathi and acknowledged the gurus and ancestors who had taught him the rituals.

Sankaran Namboothiri said he had applied for the Sabarimala post before 2020 but had not done so since joining the Pazhavangadi temple that year. As the temple is managed by the Indian Army, he needed permission to apply and received it this time.

Despite more demanding selection conditions this year, he said his 21 years of continuous experience as a chief priest had given him confidence.

His earlier assignments include the Nedumangad Bhagavathy Temple, a temple in Kottayam, the R K Puram Ayyappa Temple in Delhi and the Thycaud Sastha Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

Describing the appointment as an opportunity to serve Lord Ayyappa, he pledged to perform his duties sincerely and without financial motives. He said he would most likely visit Sabarimala on Monday to seek the deity’s blessings before taking charge.

Sankaran Namboothiri will succeed Prasad E D of Thrissur at Sabarimala. Damodaran Namboothiri will take over from Manu Namboothiri M G of Kollam at Malikappuram.

With PTI inputs