Kochi: Amidst a heated debate on whether or not 'Makara Jyothi' is man made, Thantri Kantaru Maheswararu, Traditional Supreme Priest of the Sabarimala Temple, today said 'Makara Jyothi' was a star and was not man made.
'Makara Jyothi' is the celestial star 'Siries' and 'Makara villakku' a symbolic 'deeparadhana' lit at Ponnamabelamedu, the 84-year-old Thantri told reporters here.
The recent controversy over 'Makara Jyothi' and 'Makara Vilakku' was only to divert attention from the tragedy that claimed the lives of 102 devotees, he said. The controversy was also an attempt to torpedo the 2 month long pilgrim season of the sacred shrine, he said adding effort should be made to provide better facilties and security for the pilgrims.
On who was responsbile forlighting the 'Makara Vilakku', the thantri said earlier tribals were doing it. 'We do not see who is doing it'.
Rahul Easwar, Thantri's grandson and spokesperson of the family said the question who was lighting the 'Makara vilakku' was 'irrlevant', but what was being done was more important.
When pointed that media reports quoting former TDB commissioner Nalinakshan nair that the TDB (Travancore Devaswom Board) was lighting the fire atop Ponambelemedu he said Nair should not use this opportunity to 'tarnish' sabarimala. 'There is a deliberate attempt to create a controversy by stating that 'makara vilakku' was being lit by some people in the forest.
Asked if the thantri family would be filing an affidaivit in the kerala high court in the backdrop of the court asking if 'Makara Jyothi' was man made, Rahul Easwar said 'if the court asks the thantri family we will certaintly clarify. 'We expect the court to ask us. Court should ask us and not the TDB, which manages the shrine', he said.
'This is a delicate and sensitive issue. we have to deal with clinical precision as legal, ethical, devotional aspects were involved, he said adding the faith of lakhs of devotees was unnecessarily being questioned and a controversy created.
When pointed that lakhs of pilgrims from the neighbouring states were coming to sabarimala to see the 'Makara Vilakku', Easwar's reply was 'it was the intellectual arroagance of keralites that devotees from TN and Karnataka were coming to sabarimala to witness the Makara jyothi only'.