WOMEN TRAINED IN ‘Agama Sastra' – the manual for temple worship and rituals – can be appointed as temple priests, said Tamil Nadu minister in charge of Hindu temple administration Sekar Babu on Sunday, a day after his remarks on opening temple doors to female priests sparked debate in the state.
The Agama are theological treaties and practical manuals of divine worship. It also deals with the building of temples and related structures. These Sastras explain the external worship of God, Idols in temples.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister told that there had been no prior discussions at the government level, but that if women trained in Agama Sastra want to take up the role of temple priests, they would consider it and make all necessary arrangements.
“When media persons asked me whether women will be allowed to take up the role of temple priests, I said those who are trained in Agama Sastra will be allowed. If there are requests or grievances from women who would love to take up the role of temple priests, we will definitely consider them. The criteria would be their expertise in Agama tradition. If there are such requests, they may be given necessary training and interviewed before we absorb them,” says, Babu.
When asked about the social acceptance of such an idea, Babu stated that they would consider all of those aspects as well as other practical aspects, such as “five-day leave for women” to avoid rituals during menstruation.
After her father, a priest, died in 2008, the Madras High Court issued an order allowing a woman priest to conduct pujas in a temple.
The order was based on a petition filed by Pinniyakkal, a woman priest, following the death of her father Pinnathevar, who used to perform pujas at the Arulmigu Durgai Amman Kovil in a Madurai village. It was lauded by many, including then-chief minister M Karunanidhi in his assembly speech.
After she approached it, the High Court ruled that "neither any provision of law nor any scheme prohibits women from performing pujas in the said temple." According to the court, the argument that only a male member can be the priest has no legal or factual foundation. “It is ironic that when the presiding deity of the temple was an “Amman” in a female form, objections were being raised against a woman in performing pujas in such temples,” Justice K Chandru said in his order.
Justice Chandru, who is retired, stated that allowing women priests in Tamil Nadu would be simple because there is no ban on women in non-Agama temples.“Majority temples here are non-Agamas. Except those established in very older periods as per the Agama Sastra, smaller temples established in the past few hundred years are not Agama temples although they may be taking guidance from bigger temples", he added.
