Mumbai Trust Donates Elephant To Guruvayur Temple Amid Strict Ban
A religious trust based in Mumbai grabbed attention after dedicating a giant elephant to the Sree Krishna temple in Guruvayur, Kerala. The donation made in memory of Guru Late Sri Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal, who was the 69th Sankaracharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, marked the festival of Guru Purnima on July 10.
Even as the famous temple had stopped accepting elephants in donations, this trust paid Rs 10 lakhs to adopt a 40-year-old elephant named 'Junior Vishnu' and dedicated the animal to the Lord. Interestingly, Junior Vishnu had been living at the temple's elephant sanctuary already when the Mumbai-based trust acquired its ownership.
This elephant was chosen among the 36 elephants present at the temple's sanctuary, located in the compound of a former palace called Punnathur Kotta, which is about three kilometres from the town of Guruvayur. The trust is called Kalavai Sri Mahadevendra Saraswati Shankaracharya Trust and made the eye-catching donation because of Swamigal's close connection with the temple. Managing trustee B Sridhar revealed Kanchi Seer had donated a gold crown, padagolakam or the gold covering for the Lord's feet, a gold flute, and other special ornaments to Lord Krishna and all the other deities of the temple in the past.
'The temple trust announced a scheme whereby any devotee wanting to donate an elephant can purchase one from the Guruvayur temple itself and re-dedicate it for Rs 10 Lakhs," said a manager of Punathur Kotta, as quoted by The Free Press Journal. According to this manager, elephant donations were banned by the temple authorities since the dedication of an elephant named Ayyappan in 2011.
Temple Had Asked Swamigal For Elephant Donation
Back in time, Sridhar revealed, the management at the temple had asked Swamigal if he could offer an elephant to the Lord's feet. The trust has now fulfilled that request on his behalf. 'The Sankaracharya could not offer an elephant at that time due to the prevailing inter-state court ban on the sale or purchase of elephants. Hence, he offered a gold-covered sandalwood elephant. Now that there is a new scheme, we decided to dedicate an elephant in Swamigal's memory," Sridhar said.
Ornaments such as the ceremonial frontlets for the elephant's forehead (anna pattam) and the decorative fly-whisks used in ceremonies (chamans) were also purchased by the trust. These were worn by the elephant when it was dedicated to Lord Krishna, also called Lord Guruvayurappan, in a traditional ritual. One day before, a 1008 Kozhakattai homam was performed for Lord Mahaganapathy for the smoothest possible conduct of the donation rituals. Elephants are common occurrences during temple ceremonies in Kerala. Devotees donate them in a custom known as 'Nadakkiruthal.'
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