Nashik, April 3 (PTI): The Trimbakeshwar Temple here, which does not allow women into its sanctum sanctorum, has decided to also bar men from the core area.

The move is meant to ensure "equal treatment" to both genders at the Shiva temple, a trustee said today. The decision came a day after activist Trupti Desai and her supporters were detained when they tried to get into the Shani Shignapur temple in Ahmednagar following a high court order on Friday that women had a "fundamental right" to enter places of worship.

Lalita Shinde, one of the Trimbakeshwar trustees, said that the restrictions on men would be effective from tomorrow.

According to Kailas Ghule, another of the trustees, the ban on entry of women into the garbhagriha (sanctum) is an age-old tradition dating back to the Peshwa period and not something enforced in recent times.

So far, only men were allowed entry daily between 6 and 7am into the sanctum where the main Shiva Linga is placed, and only after putting on a specific attire called the sovala (silk clothing). Women could offer prayers from outside the area.

Some priests at Trimbakeshwar claimed most women devotees might not want to defy the tradition and enter the sanctum. They sought to give a scientific dimension to the practice by claiming there were certain rays in the core area which could probably be harmful to the health of women.

#The ancient temple, around 30km from Nashik town, is one of the country's main Shiva shrines and home to one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. It draws devotees from far and wide.

At the Shani Shignapur shrine in Ahmednagar, around 150km from Nashik, the temple management has shunned the practice of special puja for men after the Desai-led agitation demanding women's entry into the sanctum gained momentum over two months ago.

Since then, both men and women have been offering prayers from an equal distance from the idol, and only priests are allowed into the sanctum.