The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is a statutory and autonomous body established to manage Hindu temples and religious endowments in the erstwhile Travancore region of Kerala. It was created under the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1950 (Act XV of 1950), which came into effect after the formation of the United States of Travancore and Cochin in 1949. The Act transferred control of all temples owned by the Travancore royal family to the state, solving the problem of administering these institutions by setting up a separate, autonomous body.
The TDB manages around 1,249 temples, including the prominent Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, which is a major source of its income. The Board consists of a President and two members, all of whom must be Hindu and are nominated by the government. Key provisions of the Act grant the TDB all rights, authority, and jurisdiction over the devaswoms and Hindu religious endowments formerly exercised by the ruler of Travancore, as per Section 16. The TDB has powers of direction, control, and supervision over the incorporated and unincorporated devaswoms under its jurisdiction. It is responsible for pilgrim welfare, maintaining temple properties, and appointing staff, including priests.
The TDB is one of five Devaswom Boards in Kerala, which also include the Cochin and Malabar Devaswom Boards, managing a total of around 3,000 temples. A significant recent development is the Kerala High Court's directive for the TDB to implement a fully centralized computerized accounting system to address systemic deficiencies in financial management and improve transparency. The TDB is also frequently connected to the ongoing legal discourse surrounding the Sabarimala temple entry issue, where it has presented arguments before the Supreme Court on the interplay between Article 25(2)(b) (throwing open public Hindu religious institutions) and Article 26(b) (right of a religious denomination to manage its own affairs in matters of religion) of the Constitution.