President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday made history by becoming the first woman President of India to offer prayers at the sacred Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala, Kerala. She is also the second President to visit the shrine after V. V. Giri’s visit in the 1970s.
According to a statement by Rashtrapati Bhavan, “President Droupadi Murmu performed Darshan and Puja at the Sabarimala Temple. She prayed before Lord Ayyappa for the well-being and prosperity of fellow citizens.”
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Traditional Rituals and Temple Visit
President Murmu reached Pamba at around 11 a.m. and performed the customary rituals, washing her feet in the Pampa River before offering prayers at nearby temples, including the Lord Ganapathy shrine. She was accompanied by her ADC Saurabh S. Nair, PSO Vinay Mathur, and her son-in-law Ganesh Chandra Hombram.
Carrying the sacred ‘Irumudi Kettu’ on their heads, the President and her entourage travelled via a special vehicle to the Sannidhanam, the hilltop sanctum, along the 4.5-km Swami Ayyappan Road. Upon arrival, she climbed the 18 holy steps to reach the temple, where she was received with full temple honours by Kerala’s Devaswom Minister V. N. Vasavan and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President P. S. Prasanth. The temple Tantri, Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru, welcomed her with a ‘Poorna Kumbha’.
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A Symbolic Visit Post Supreme Court Verdict
Murmu’s visit holds symbolic significance following the Supreme Court’s 2018 judgment that lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of menstruating women (aged 10 to 50) into the Sabarimala temple. The Court had ruled that the restriction violated the constitutional rights to equality and freedom of religion.
BJP leader Bandi Kumar Sanjay lauded the President’s gesture, saying, “She is 67. She broke no rules, hurt no faith — she only honoured it. In doing so, she became the first President ever to carry the Irumudi and bow before Lord Ayyappa.”
Kerala Tour and Upcoming Engagements
The President is currently on a four-day visit to Kerala. On Thursday, she will unveil the bust of former President K. R. Narayanan at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram and inaugurate the Mahasamadhi Centenary of Sree Narayana Guru at Sivagiri Mutt, Varkala.
She will also attend the Platinum Jubilee valedictory of St. Thomas College, Palai, and the centenary celebrations of St. Teresa’s College, Ernakulam.
