Sri Vaishnava
Sampradhayam is centuries old; not one created in a day or by a single
person. It is a rich tradition handed
over generations refined by our various Acharyas and great Saints of our
Religion. Ordinary mortals like us do
not have the learning, right, capacity or wisdom to change or even comment on
them. We should preserve our heritage by
properly adhering to those words of our ancestors “Munnor mozhintha murai
thappamal kettu”.
What
follows is a gist of a Court judgement on the happenings at Thirukurungudi and
no attempt to put forth my own views.
Thirukurungudi is a holy
Divyadesam of 5 temples. There are five Nambis in this Kshetram. They are Ninra
Nambi (Standing posture), Irundha Nambi (Sitting posture), Kidandha Nambi
(Sleeping posture), Thiruparkadal Nambi and Thirumalai Nambi. The word “Nambi” can be described to mean
personification of all virtuous and righteous qualities blended with beauty and
grace. Legend has it that at
Thiruvattaparai, the supreme Lord himself acted as a Sishya to our Acharyar Ramanujar
posing as ‘vadugar’. Tirukurungudi is
one of the 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams
and is situated on the banks of the river Nambiyaru, 45 km off
Tirunelveli and closer to Nanguneri (Vaanamamalai). For people here, the river and Temple are the things
around which life revolves. The fertile
lands are known for cultivation of rice and plantains.
The famous “Kaisika
Puranam” is associated with this temple.
Nampaduvaan was a great devotee, who used sing paeans in praise of Lord
Nambi and on Sukla Ekadasi night in the month of Karthigai, he was encountered
by a Brammarakshas (demon) who was hungry for days. The demon wanted to eat him; Nampaduvan was
not terrified but told that he had his duty to be finished first, that is
singing the praise of Lord Nambi and would return without fail. The God in the disguise of oldman tells Nampaaduvan to escape but Nampaaduvan
reiterates that he would never deviate from his premise. In the end the sins of rakashas goes away as
he gets the fruits of the song (kaisika pun).
Recalling this, every year on dwadasi day, kaisika puranam is being read
out in front of Lord Nambi.
The Mahendragiri
mountain near the temple is believed to posses abundant medicinal herbs and is
believed to be the place where Hanuman set his foot.
Inside the sanctum there
is idol of Shiva, which was removed few years back and became the subject
matter in High Court. As all the Second
Appeals arise out of the judgment and decree passed in O.S.No.288 of 2004 on
the file of the Additional
District Munsif Court, Nanguneri, they were all
taken up together and disposed off by this common judgment.
In the recent judgement,
Hon. Justice Mala observed that the
Jeeyar Swami had changed the character
of the Nambirayar temple by removal of Shiva idol. In June 2004, the lingam was removed by
authorities and placed at a different place inside the temple. Conflicts, litigation and Civil suit
followed.
The petition of the of
Divya Desa Paarambariya Paadhukaappu Peravai, stated that a Sivan deity called ' Mahendragirinathar',
had been in existence for more than 1000 years in the Siva Sannadhi of an
ancient temple called "Azhagiya Namirayar Perumal Temple" at
Thirukurungudi in Nanguneri Taluk, Tirunelveli District. The temple is under the control of the Jeeyar
Mutt.
Here is the gist of the
judgment of Madurai Bench of Madras High
Court (pronounced on 29th Nov. 10) in
batch cases which were combined together.
The averments in the
plaint were that the Lingam in front of Lord Veetru Irundha Nambi had existed
for centuries and in this kshetram both
sects (Saivaites and Srivaishnavaites) have been offering worship. That
Saint Thirumoolar had said in his preachings/divine poems that if any
person removes the idol of Siva, it will cause law and order problem/other
chaos/ calamities in the State. There was one custom prevailing in the Thirukurungudi Temple, i.e. the Bhattachariyar will ask
the Sivachariyar as to whether the Lord Mahendragirinathar has had His food.
On 1.6.2004, Lord
Mahendragirinathar Sannathi (Lingam) was altered, removed and demolished. Those who felt wounded affected by the
activities had filed this plaint and the
first plaintiff is the President of Saiva Velalar Association of
Thirukurungudi. The Temple is under the control of defendant-Jeeyar of Thirukurungudu Jeeyar
Madam ; the Commissioner of H.R. & C.E., Chennai and the Joint
Commissioner of H.R. & C.E.,
Palayamkottai, were also added as
defendants amongst other parties.
The petition sought
relief to declare that the demolition, removal and relocation the Sannathi of
Lord Mahendragirinathar, situated in North-East of Sanctum Santorum of the
Temple and in front of Veetriruntha Nambi's (sitting posture) Sannathi within
the premises of Arulmighu Azhagia Nambirayar Temple, Thirukurungudi, to a
different place, is invalid and for
injunction to subsequently instal the aforesaid Arulmighu Mahendragirinathar
Sannathi in the same place as existed earlier.
Amongst the other
points, the written statement filed by His Holiness Jeeyar Swami stated that Thirumangai Azhwar had sung in
praise of Lord Siva referring to him as
“pakkam nindraar” (standing by the side) and hence cannot be opposite to the
Presiding deity. Lord Shiva known as Shri Mahendragirinathar was originally
enshrined on the hill top and as the worshippers could not reach there, slowly
the Shrine got defunct and the Linga was brought and placed within the Vaishnavite Temple and that structure is now being
removed, had no foundation and was apparently put to as a temporary make-shift
arrangement at that time. It was not originally not part of the Temple, but a later
addition.
The Temple
is a Vaishnavaite
Temple under the
administration of the
Head of the Mutt, His
Holiness The Jeeyar Swamigal and the Mutt sought help of donors including TVS
Group in renovating the temple. As per
the tradition and accepted practice, before taking up the renovation work,
Deiva Prasanam was conducted to seek divine sanction and to perform the
requisite rituals found necessary and to rectify the defects, if any. The
acclaimed Tantric Shri Unnikrishnan was consulted and the divine ordination
disclosed that the then dilapidated Shiva
Temple on the North-East of the
Village known as Arulmighu Shri Analleswara
Temple be renovated first before the
renovation work in the Arulmighu
Azhagiya Nambriyar
Perumal Temple.
Accordingly, the same was done.
The Deiva Prasanam
further disclosed that the practice of preparation
of Neivediyam in common
in Madapalli (Divine Kitchen) in the Temple
was not proper and be discontinued. These disclosures coincided with the
opinion of scholars, Jeeyar Swamigal, who is the sole administrator of the Temple, and also various
other religious Heads of eminence and erudite
scholars having special knowledge of Aagama Saastras and most of the
devotees expressed their consent to Jeeyer
Swamigal's views.
Renovation work is thus
not for removing the Siva Linga but for providing proper place and eminence
appropriate to Lord Shiva as per saastric prescriptions. In "Aagama
Saastras", there is no absolute bar that an Idol/Linga Temple cannot be
shifted from its place to another under any circumstances. Prathistha
(installation) texts of the Aagama Saastras, permit and make provision for
Punar Nirmanam (re-installation) and prescribes the rules therefor. The
proposal is to ensure and enhance the solemnity and dignity of the worship of
Lord Shiva in the Temple precincts by rectifying the defects disclosed in the
Deiva Prasanam in conformity with Saastric prescriptions with the constrains of
space inside the Temple and not to cast any indignity to the Lingam as alleged
in the plaint.
All the Poojas to the
Lord Shiva will be performed as before, with separate Neivedaya in the new
Divine Kitchen after the chance of location to the right place and hence, the
first defendant-Jeeyar of Thirukurungui Mutt prayed for dismissal of the suit.
In the additional
counter the Jeeyar Swami further stated (gist):
v Govt
of TN issued a GO Ms No. 55 dt 8/4/2005 ratifying the action of Temple authorities in
shifting the shrine and permitted consecration.
v The
location of the Idol at the proper place cannot affect the
v religious
sentiments of any worshipper. The religious function of the Head of the Mutt,
is not subject to supervisory control of the H.R.& C.E. Board.
v the
renovation / restoration was undertaken adopting a holistic approach blending
science and ancient wisdom.
v The
Head of the Mutt has taken in the interests of the religion and worshippers and
the decision to shift the Idol was made, and as no new Idol was to be
installed, the sanctity of the Temple
would not be diminished. His Holiness Shri Kanchi Sankaracharya of Kanchi
Kamakoti Peetam opined that the Idol of the Lord Shiva can be re-located as per
the Agamic injunctions.
On the basis of the
pleadings and arguments advanced by learned counsel on both sides, the trial
Court framed necessary issues and considering the oral and documentary
evidence, the trial Court decreed the suit as prayed for by the plaintiffs,
against which, D1 to D3 and D7 to D9 preferred First Appeals and the first
appellate Court allowed those First Appeals and dismissed the suit.
Learned counsel for
First defendant-Jeer relied on the decision of the
Apex Court reported in
AIR 1959 SC 860 (Sarup Singh Vs.State of Punjab),
in which the Supreme Court held that the
administration of its property by a religious denomination has thus been placed
on a different footing from the right to manage its own affairs in matters of
religion. The latter is a fundamental right which no legislature can take away,
whereas the former can be regulated by laws which the legislature can validly
impose.
·
Freedom of religion in our Constitution is not confined to
religious
·
beliefs only, but extends to essential religious practices as
well, subject to the restrictions which the Constitution has laid down.
·
The Court going by the answers to the substantial questions of
law determined that
-
the plaintiffs have locus-standi to file the suit in a
representativecapacity;
-
the H.R. & C.E. authorities sought for explanation from
the Jeeyar Swami regarding the removal
of the Idol of Lord Shiva from the place, which is admittedly now kept in
"Dhanya Vaasam" (inside paddy). This shows that the first
defendant-Jeer has no authority to remove the Idol of Lord Shiva from the place
where it was originally situated;
-
the Government have also passed the G.O. ratifying the said
action of the Jeeyar, when admittedly, as on today, the challenge to the said
G.O. is pending before this Court in W.P.No.18450 of 2005
-
The judgment and decree of the first appellate Court are liable
to be set aside and that of the trial Court are to be restored. Therefore, the
plaintiffs are entitled to get the declaration that the demolition, removal and
re-location of the Lord Shiva/Mahendragirinathar Sannadhi situated on the
north-east of Sancum Sanctorum of the Temple and
in front of the Shrine Veetrirundha Nambi, to a different place, within the
premises of Arulmighu
Azhagiya Nambirayar
Temple, Thirukurungudi,
is illegal and invalid. Accordingly, the declaration sought for by the plaintiffs,
is granted.
-
There will be a direction to defendants to restore the Lord Shiva Sannadhi, namely
Arulmighu Sri Mahendragirinathar, to the original place from where it was
removed, within three months from today.
-
the other miscellaneous petitions are closed.
