Devotee drops iPhone in hundial, can't return it, says Arulmighu Kandaswamy temple admin
The reason given to Dinesh was that anything that had fallen into the hundial belonged to the presiding deity of the temple as per the tradition.
A devotee, Dinesh, had accidentally dropped his iPhone into the hundial (offering box) of the Arulmighu Kandaswamy temple
CHENNAI: A devotee, Dinesh, had accidentally dropped his iPhone into the hundial (offering box) of the Arulmighu Kandaswamy temple in Tiruporur, and expected the temple administration to return it to him, only to be disappointed when the latter refused, citing tradition.
The reason given to Dinesh was that anything that had fallen into the hundial belonged to the presiding deity of the temple as per the tradition.
The temple comes under the purview of the department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE). Dinesh, a native of Vinayagapuram, along with his family, had visited the temple two months ago. When he reached out to the hundial to drop his offering, the phone that he had kept in his shirt pocket also fell in.
After his efforts to retrieve it ended in vain, he approached the temple administration and requested them retrieve the phone. However, they assured Dinesh that he would be informed about the date when the hundial would be opened for counting.
When the hundial was opened as per schedule on Friday, Dinesh was promptly informed. Though he was happy to find the phone in it, he was not given the phone as the tradition strictly prohibited returning anything that fell into the hundial.
Senior HR & CE officials also confirmed the practice prevailing in temples across TN and said: “Anything, including gadgets, found among the offerings belongs to the presiding deity of the temple, and would be under the temple’s custody. We gave him the option of extracting data and files from the SIM card of the phone, but he didn’t accept the offer, and left the temple disappointed.”