Devaswom Boards In Kerala
Devaswom (Sanskrit: Property of God) is a socio-religious trust with government or society/community nominated members as trustees to manage Hindu temples and its assets and ensure smooth functioning of temple as per traditional rituals and customs. This system is normally found in Kerala, where almost all temples are either managed by Kerala Government controlled Devaswoms as a cluster for temples which falls under its direct administration or formed by private bodies/families.
All temples of Kerala are managed by Devaswoms. Devaswom means properties of god (Deva means God and Swom mean ownership in Sanskrit). Thus its a social system, by which all properties of each temple are declared as personal property of presiding deity of each temple and managed through a body of trustees who bear allegiance to the presiding deity.
The four devaswoms (Guruvayur, Travancore, Malabar and Cochin) together manage nearly 3000 temples in Kerala.
Read more about Devaswom Boards In Kerala: History, Department, Revenues, Travancore Devaswom Board, Guruvayur Devaswom Board, Criticism
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