Ex-CAG Minister served vallasadya prior to deity; thantri says rituals violated

AMID allegations that Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, along with other dignitaries, was served the Ashtami Rohini Vallasadya before it was offered to the deity, the thantri of Aranmula Sree Parthasarathy temple has stated that this year’s ritual was conducted “entirely against temple tradition”.

- 

The event, held on September 14 at the temple and inaugurated by the devaswom minister, was attended by Agriculture Minister P Prasad and other top officials.

In a letter to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), temple thantri Parameswaran Vasudevan Bhattathirippad insisted that public atonement rituals must be performed to rectify the lapse. The thantri said the feast was served ahead of the ritual ‘Nivedyam’ (offering to the deity), which is a serious breach of custom.