Court restrains Pandharpur temple panel from chemical coating of Lord Vitthal idol

A court in Maharashtras Solapur district has granted a temporary injunction restraining the Shri Vitthal Rukmini Temple Committee from applying a chemical protective coating to the idol of Lord Vitthal at the renowned Pandharpur templeThe interim order was passed on Monday by Joint Civil Judge S S Raul on an application filed by members of the Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh and several warkari organisations The petition challenged the temple committees decision to carry out the coating process on Tuesday and WednesdayThe petitioners argued that the use of modern chemical compounds on the ancient idol would be contrary to religious traditions and scriptural practices observed by devotees for generationsDevotees oppose use of modern chemicalsAccording to the petitioners applying substances such as epoxy resin to the idol would violate established religious practices and could affect the sanctity of the deityThe devotees contended that traditional methods should be followed instead of modern chemical treatments They advocated the use of natural vajralep a traditional protective application historically associated with the conservation of temple idolsThe Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh also expressed concerns about the longterm impact of chemical substances on stone idolsIn a statement issued on Monday the organisation claimed that artificial chemicals could interfere with the natural properties of stone and potentially affect its durability over timeTemple committee cites conservation concernsThe Shri Vitthal Rukmini Temple Committee defended its decision before the court stating that the proposed restoration work had been recommended by the Archaeology DepartmentAccording to the committee the coating was intended to help preserve the idol ahead of the Ashadi Ekadashi pilgrimage in July when lakhs of devotees are expected to visit the templeThe committee also questioned the legal standing of the petitioners to challenge the decision citing provisions of the Pandharpur Temple ActHowever the court was not persuaded by these arguments at the interim stageCourt says idol belongs to all devoteesWhile passing the order the court observed that the temple committee functions primarily as an administrative and custodial body responsible for managing temple affairsHowever they cannot claim any kind of sovereignty and ownership over the idol itself The idol belongs to all devotees and therefore any act affecting the idol itself is the primary concern of all devotees the court saidThe judge emphasised that decisions affecting the idol could not be viewed solely as administrative matters and must take into account the concerns of devoteesNo immediate urgency court observesThe court also referred to findings of the Archaeological Survey of India ASI which reportedly indicated that the idol was in a satisfactory state of preservationObserving that there was no immediate emergency requiring urgent intervention the court held that the objections raised by devotees could not be ignoredUntil there is a specific explanation from the defendant in respect of materials used for protective coating which is the very subject matter of the present dispute such protective coating shall not be allowed to be applied the judge saidThe court further observed that any departure from traditional practices could result in the defilement of the idol itself and restrained the temple committee from carrying out the procedure until the final disposal of the suitAshadi pilgrimage draws lakhs of devoteesThe development comes just weeks before Ashadi Ekadashi one of the most significant religious occasions associated with Lord VitthalEvery year lakhs of warkaris from across Maharashtra and neighbouring states undertake the annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur travelling on foot to offer prayers at the VitthalRukmini templeThe pilgrimage attracts devotees from diverse social and economic backgrounds including farmers labourers and rural communities making it one of the states largest and most prominent religious gatheringsThe matter is expected to return to court for further hearings as the dispute over the proposed conservation process continuesWith inputs from PTI