Gates of the Sabarimala -holy place will be shut for purification customs after two women of menstruating age entered the temple on Wednesday. In a first, two women below the age of 50 cross the threshold of  the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala. This news came post more than two months of the September 28 Supreme Court judgment lifting the ban on the entrance of women of menstrual age into the hilly shrine.

Earlier the apex court had ruled that women of all ages will be permitted to enter the temple to offer prayers. Worth mention here traditionally, girls and women in the menstruating age group of 10-50 years are barred at the place of pilgrimage.

The women devotees, Bindu and Kanakdurga, entered and offered prayers at 3.45 am, as the news agency ANI reported. The women in their 40s means in menstruating age were accompanied by police personnel, as ANI added.

It is noted that they had tried to visit Sabarimala Temple in December 2018 but were unsucceeful  amidst massive protests.

 Talking on the incident, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confirmed the news. He  asserted that "We had issued standing orders to police to provide all possible protection to any woman who wants to enter the temple."

A viral video posted by news agency ANI shows the two women wearing black dresses and hurrying towards the temple. Chantings and prayers can be heard in the premises of the temple complex.