Even as the gold theft case in the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple grabbed national headlines and necessitated the constitution of a High Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT), an order issued by the Kerala High Court in 1998, granting permission for works on covering the roof of the temple’s Sreekovil with gold sheets by Vijay Mallya, then chairman of the UB Group of Industries, Bengaluru, has shed light on certain interesting aspects that unfolded at that time.
While disposing of a petition filed by a group of devotees against the work, the order issued by judges A.R. Lakshmanan and D. Sreedevi had made it clear that once the gold covering works are completed, it is the duty of the authorities to provide and fund adequate security arrangements. However, this directive has not been entirely carried out by governments and boards till date.
The devotees argued that the move to cover the copper roof of the Sreekovil with gold sheets cannot be allowed because the deity of Sabarimala is that of Yogeeswara. Decorating the deity and the temple with costly ornaments and gold goes against the concept of Yogeeswara. In addition, if the roof is covered with gold, armed security personnel will have to be deployed in and around the temple, for which the board will have to spend lakhs of rupees. They also raised allegations against V.G.N. Namboothiri, the United Democratic Front (UDF) government nominee in the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) then, saying the work was aimed at fattening the purse of Mr. Namboothiri.
TDB’s counter-argument
Instead of spending lakhs of rupees on gold work, the company may be directed to spend that money on other purposes such as water supply, Annadanam to pilgrims, and building temporary sheds, the devotees said in the petition. In a counter-affidavit, the TDB refuted the arguments, terming them ‘absolutely untrue and unjustifiable.’ It argued that the flagstaff (Kodimaram) of the temple is gold-plated and the idol is made of Panchaloha. Lord Ayyappa has several valuable jewels such as Thanka Anki, the gold ornaments offered by the ruler of the erstwhile state of Travancore. Jewels and lamps made of gold are received as offerings too. The concept of Yogeeswara had not come in the way of such display of wealth, or the conduct of five daily pujas, the 10-day festival etc., the TDB said.
In other temples
The judges were of the view that the use of gold vessels at the temple and the gold covering of the Sreekovil roof do not militate against the concept of Lord Ayyappa as Yogeeswara. The order also noted that many famous temples in Tamil Nadu such as the Sree Meenakshiamman temple in Madurai; Sree Ranganatha temple at Srirangam, Tiruchirappalli; and Sri Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, not only have gold-covered roofs but also replicas of horse, bull, Garuda etc. in gold, apart from golden chariots for carrying the principal deity. Nearer home, the temple at Guruvayur has a roof adorned with golden plates, the court observed.
Later, disposing of the petition and granting permission for undertaking the work offered by Mr. Mallya, the court observed that the complaint was made with some ulterior motives. In the counter-affidavit, the board also stated that Sree Sankaracharaya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peedom H.H. Jayendra Saraswathi, who visited the temple along with junior Swami H.H. Vijayendra Saraswati, had suggested gold covering of the roof of the Sreekovil.
Published – January 09, 2026 08:30 pm IST
