Sabarimala temple custodian, the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB), on Monday extended time to Tantri Kantararu Rajeeveru to explain why a "purification" ritual was conducted following the visit of two women devotees to the Lord Ayyappa shrine just after New Year, said a board official.
"Till Sunday he was at Sabarimala.
Now that he is free, he might have to take opinion from others before he gives his reply.
So we gave him another 15 days time, " TDB president A. Padmakumar told the media here.
"Generally when a normal purification ritual is done, the tantri does not need to take the permission of the TDB, but what happened on January 2, was not a normal one, " Padmakumar added.
The temple was shut for an hour around 10. 30 a. m. , on January 2, for "purification rituals" after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed two women - - Bindu Ammini and Kanaka Durga, belonging to the hitherto banned age group - - completed a 'darshan' at 3. 30 a. m. in Sabarimala.