No more Acharavedi ritual in Ernakulam and Thiruvanchikulam temples

KOCHI: The Cochin Devaswom Board's Ernakulam Shiva Temple and Thiruvanchikulam Mahadeva Temple will no longer perform the Acharavedi(high-decibel firework) ritual to wake up the deities from May 1. The centuries-old ritual is being abandoned because the L.E. 2 license for storing gunpowder has not been renewed. Even during the COVID period, the ritual resumed in these temples.

Eight temples of the board have these as a ritual. The tragic incident of a worker succumbing to injuries during an accident while performing the ritual at the Thrissur Anthimahakalan Temple led the Cochin Devaswom Board to not renew the licence in these two temples.

The Ernakulam Shiva Temple is among the first temples in Kerala to open the sanctum sanctorum too early in the morning, compared to other temples. After the pujas at 2.30 in the morning, the doors open when the ceremonial explosion is fired at 3 am. The ritual is repeated for the Usha Puja, Ethrithapuja, and Ucha Puja. The door opens at 4, and the Deeparadhana ceremonies at 7. At Thiruvanchikkulam, the ceremonial explosion is fired only in the morning.

Both temples were denied licenses because the ammunition depot, which stores the gunpowder, violated the distance limit. If the ammunition depot is rebuilt, the problem may be solved. Under the guise of ritual firing, the Devaswom Board is also collecting money from devotees for the ritual. The contract is worth millions of rupees annually. At the Vadakkumnathan temple, where the Thrissur Pooram is held, the contract is given only for ritual firing. There is no achara vedi ritual here. Since the gunpowder is negligible, the risk of an accident is also low.