Singer Yesudas seeks entry to Padmanabha swamy temple

Eminent Carnatic vocalist and playback singer K J Yesudas has applied for permission to offer worship at the centuries-old Padmanabhawamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, where only believers of Hinduism are permitted.

The temple authorities said, the singer, a Christian by birth, sent the request letter and declaration of his faith in Hinduism through a special messenger on Saturday evening.

Temple executive officer V Ratheesan, IAS, said though Yesudas did not mention any particular date, the messenger informed that the singer would like to visit the shrine on Vijayadasami, which falls on September 30.

"As per our customs, anyone who believes in Hinduism can visit the Padmanabhaswamy temple and offer worship. There are no restrictions for that," he told PTI.

"We all know about Yesudas's faith in Hinduism and now he has given a declaration in this regard. So, as of now, there is no issue for him to visit the shrine," the official said.

Non-Hindus and foreigners are permitted inside the sprawling shrine dedicated to Lord Padmanabha after accepting similar declarations, he said.

Hailing from a Roman Catholic family, the Malayalam singer had earlier been denied entry into the famous Sree Krishna temple at Guruvayur in Thrissur district and Kadampuzha Devi temple in Malappuram for being a 'non-Hindu'.

However, Yesudas has been a regular visitor to the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala and Mookambika temple at Kollur in Karnataka.

A Padma Vibhushan awardee and winner of multiple national and state awards, Yesudas has sung over one lakh songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi in his 56-year-long singing career.

PTI