THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA, August 19, 2007: The Kerala state government is considering setting up a university to train Hindu priests and others associated with conducting rituals in temples. This has been proposed by State Temple Affairs Minister, G. Sudhaskaran, to the Travancore Devasthanam Board. “It is high time to teach priests how to conduct rituals to the satisfaction of devotees. They don’t know the basics of the religion and what the rituals and mantras are all about. They have little knowledge of Sanskrit too,” the Minister said.
An autonomous body, the Travancore Devasthanam Board, runs around 1,200 temples in southern Kerala, including the famed hill shrine of Sabarimala. The board is currently under a probe panel, which is headed by a former Supreme Court judge, for alleged corruption and malpractices. The minister also said that the government could bring in legislation to set up the university in consultation with Hindu scholars.