Blade leads to purification rite at Guruvayur

A purification rite was performed in the famous Sri Krishna temple at Guruvayur in Kerala, after a piece of razor blade was found in the sanctum sanctorum, which was suspected to have made its way into the shrine through a garland brought to decorate the deity.

The punyaham (purification) was conducted since the temple tradition insisted that the premises be cleansed by performing the rite on detection of any objects other than those traditionally permitted, a temple official said. The piece of blade might have entered the temple through a garland supplied by one of the families, whose hereditary occupation is to supply flowers and garlands for the temple.

There are 17 families which belong to a particular caste, who are traditionally assigned the job. The blade night have been used to rip open the gunny bags in which the flowers are packed. It might have got stuck in the garland and passed unnoticed before being taken into the shrine, temple sources said.

However, a show-cause notice had been served on the family that made and brought garlands to the temple on Sunday.