Supreme Court directs that the Udayasthamana Pooja at Guruvayur be held on Vrishchikam Ekadasi
8 October 2026
A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi has directed that the Udayasthamana Pooja at the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple be continued in the manner it was earlier performed, on Vrishchikam Ekadasi, which falls on 21 November 2026.
The direction is an interim measure, subject to the final outcome of the pending appeal.
The Court also permitted the Guruvayur Devaswom Managing Committee and the Thantri to hold the pooja on 22 October 2026.
The appeal, in P.C. Hary versus Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee, was expedited and posted for the first week of December.
The appeal arises from a Kerala High Court judgment of December 2024 on the conduct of the pooja.
The Udayasthamana Pooja is a day-long ritual from sunrise to sunset comprising 18 poojas, a homam and abhishekam.
In plain words
Thantri Chief priest of a temple — Under the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, 1978 the Thantri is treated as the final authority on religious and ceremonial matters of the temple.