The Sabarimala Temple is a Hindu religious institution dedicated to Lord Ayyappan, situated atop the Sabarimala hill in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India. The temple is administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) under the Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act XV of 1950. Its origin is rooted in mythology, where Lord Ayyappan, worshipped as a Naishtika Brahmachari (eternal celibate), instructed King Rajashekhara to build the shrine. Historical references to the temple appear in the inscriptions of the Pandalam dynasty from the 12th century, and it rose to prominence as a major pilgrimage center in the 20th century.
The mechanism of the pilgrimage requires devotees to observe a rigorous 41-day vratam (penance) and carry an Irumudi kettu (a sacred bundle of offerings) to climb the 18 sacred steps to the shrine. Traditionally, the temple enforced a custom barring women between the ages of 10 and 50 from entering, a practice connected to the celibate nature of the deity.
This custom connects directly to the Indian Constitution, specifically the fundamental rights under Article 14 (equality), Article 15 (non-discrimination), and the religious freedom provisions of Article 25 and Article 26. The practice was challenged in the Supreme Court case Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala (2018). On September 28, 2018, a 4:1 majority of the Supreme Court overturned the ban, ruling that the exclusion was not an Essential Religious Practice and violated the fundamental rights of women. The ratio of the judgment was that the selective ban on women was a form of "religious patriarchy" and unconstitutional. While the 2018 judgment remains in force, a nine-judge Constitution Bench is currently reviewing the broader constitutional questions arising from the verdict, such as the scope of the Essential Religious Practices doctrine and the balance between individual and denominational rights.