25,000 acres of temple land missing; are gods and goddesses next?
Is Lord Ayyappa safe in the holy shrine of Sabarimala atop the Western Ghats in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district? The reports coming out of the famous temple say that the Dwarapalakas (gatekeepers) installed outside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple have gone missing. The idols made out of Pancha Loha (an alloy of five metals) and the pedestal meant for them have vanished into thin air. R Sreelekha, former director general of police and an expert in intelligence gathering, is of the firm opinion that the Dwarapalakas and the pedestal command a price of Rs.50 crore in today’s rates. The day is not far off when Lord Ayyappa himself may be abducted/ kidnapped from the sanctum sanctorum.
By Sunday evening, Gopal Krishna, the former vigilance chief of Sabarimala Temple and Travancore Devaswom Board, made another startling disclosure. “The offerings of cash, precious metals, and costly gifts made to the Lord by the devotees find their way to the possession of the bosses and staff of the TDB. Though we had alerted the government many times, no action has been taken to check this plundering,” said Gopal Krishna, who is a veteran investigator of crimes and financial embezzlements.
It is said that the geopolitical equations are changing fast across the globe. The speed with which revelations about the irregularities happening in temples across Kerala is sure to bewilder political observers. The Manmohan Singh government at the center became infamous because of “a scam per day” record. The happenings in temples in Kerala eclipse the Manmohan government (2004-2014).
On 24th September 2025, PGurus had quoted Ishwar Sharan, a Canadian scholar, as saying that Hindus have become second-class citizens in India. Sharan is no run-of-the-mill scholar. Born in a God-fearing Protestant Christian family, he travelled across the world to find the truth in its essence and spirit. Years of studies in Christian and Islamic institutions convinced him about the fact that Sanatan Dharma was the only route to salvation and liberation. In the course of his journey and studies, Sharan, who was given the name Swami Devananda Saraswathi by his guru, a Mahamandaleswar at Prayag, came across some shocking developments happening in India.
“Hindus have become second-class citizens in their own motherland because of a pusillanimous and weak-minded religious and political leadership. As long as Christianity continues to wage a socially destructive war of aggression on Hinduism and take prisoners in the form of unsophisticated, credulous converts, its curious theories and unique claims must be thoroughly investigated and challenged by Hindus of integrity and conviction,” is the crux of what Ishwar Sharan has been writing and speaking for the last many decades.
While Ishwar Sharan singled out Christianity working to destroy Sanatan Dharma once and forever, the Islamist radicals, too, have joined them in wiping out Hinduism from the face of the earth. The findings of the Kerala High Court announced on 10th October 2025 underscore the observations made by Sharan. But Operation Om (the mission to destroy Hinduism), being executed by the enemies of India, were sporadic hitherto, has taken the role of an avalanche and is sweeping the Sanatana Dharma with all their might.
Initially, it was the holy shrine of Sabarimala atop the Western Ghats, which was an eyesore for the Abrahamic religions. The Division Bench of Kerala High Court declared on Friday that an effort was underway to rob the Lord Ayyapa Temple of all its gold, silver, and precious stones. By the time the judges Raja Vijayaraghavan and K V Jayakumar made it known that the temple, described as Mahakshethram, is being pilfered of the offerings made by the gullible devotees, reports about dacoity from three more temples in the state hogged the limelight. The Vettakku Oru Makan Kshethram at Kozhikode, a Devi Temple at Kasaragod, and the Aranmula Temple have been plundered by the staff of the Devaswom Boards at Malabar and Travancore with the active connivance of the ruling CPI(M). These incidents came out in the last three days, and details of more such dacoities are expected soon.
While gold from the three temples mentioned above was swindled by the staff members of the Devaswom Boards that administer these places of worship, equally disturbing news has upset the devotees. The God’s offerings named Kari Prasadam distributed to the devotees who throng the Maha Ganapathi Temple at Kottarakkara is the latest controversy. The Naivedyam prepared in the temple for distribution to the devotees have been found to be made using substandard materials in unhygienic conditions. On Friday, devotees came across empty liquor bottles in the room where the “prasadam” was being prepared. Recently, the Temple of Lord Shiva at Ernakulam, one of the few Mahakshetrams in Kerala, was in the news as the staff of the Devaswom Board were caught consuming liquor and mutton inside the temple premises. Since the perpetrators of the act were leaders of the CPI(M), no action could be taken against them, and the entire incident was hushed up at the instance of a minister from the district.
Scientists of the Kerala State Analytical Laboratory, entrusted with examining the quality of prasadam sold at Sabarimala Temple, were in for a shock when they came across rats and rodents having a field day in the TDB storerooms where jaggery, rice, and ghee are stored for manufacturing Appam, Aravana Payasam, and other prasadams. “It is only because of the Almighty’s blessings that the devotees are saved from bout of plague and other deadly contagious diseases. Despite our warnings, the temple authorities have not taken any steps to make the area clean and hygienic. Please remember that the Travancore Devaswom Board makes crores of rupees every year through the sale of these offerings,” said a senior scientist who examines the quality of the ingredients, told PGuru.
The situation is no different in temples administered by the Devaswom Board. The Kerala government, led by Pinarayi Vijayan, disclosed in the Legislative Assembly in 2016 that 25,000 acres of prime land owned by temples have disappeared altogether. The all-powerful land mafia has swallowed the temple lands as well as the offerings received by the presiding deities.
Devotees to temples may bear in mind the truth that the Lord does not discriminate between people who offer lakhs of rupees and those who come to pay obeisance empty-handed. It is not the money or gold you offer the Lord that makes Him bestow blessings on you. If your devotion and dedication are sincere, there is no need for you to doubt the power of the deity.
Various Sanatana Dharma organizations are asking the devotees to offer cash to institutions that undertake a free meals distribution scheme and free medical aid. There are organizations like Akshaya Patra (a wing owned and operated by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness-ISKCON) and many orphanages that look after children, the aged, and the weak. The Akshaya Patra provides meals to school children hailing from poor families, and the expenses are met through donations from well-wishers and believers. There are organizations run by Hindu outfits under the auspices of the Sangh Parivar. The cash you donate to these institutions are used for poor feeding. The saying is “Anna Daanam Maha Daanam,” the translation of which reads “Feeding the Needy is the noblest action”. Let’s feed the poor and needy. Politicians who swear that religion/ god is the opium of the masses should not be allowed anywhere near places of worship. The Communists go by the dictum that a temple destroyed makes the world a better place to live.
The Devaswom Boards that administer the temples exploit the devotees and rob the entire offerings received by the Lord. This is the reason why all comrades travel by chauffeur-driven swanky limousines and own luxury villas and apartments in major cities.
The Lord has shown that the temple coffers are being plundered by thieves appointed by the Government. It is for you to decide what you should do with the hard-earned cash. Each major temple is expected to provide three square meals a day to the devotees trooping in to offer prayers. Each temple should have a Veda Patasala offering Vedic education to students. There should be clinics attached to each temple for treating patients. And above all, each temple should have schools offering modern education to the students, especially the Hindu students. How many temples offer these sevas?
A temple comes to life when it undertakes at least one or two requirements mentioned above. If no temples offer these services, the time is not far off when they either perish or end up as Communist/ Congress party offices.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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