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Plea on Big Temple consecration in Tamil put off to January 27
A plea was moved in the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Tuesday seeking direction to conduct the consecration ceremony of Big Temple in Thanjavur in Tamil language. The ceremony at Peruvudaiyar Temple otherwise known as Brihadheeshwarar Temple is scheduled to take place on February 5, 2020.
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Madurai
The petition filed by G Thirumurugan from Ramanathapuram came up for hearing before a Division Bench of Justices M Duraiswamy and T Ravindran.
The petitioner stated that this traditional temple was built by Raja Raja Chola –I between 1003 and 1010 AD, in South bank of Cauvery River in Thanjavur, and also a part of the UNESCO world heritage site.
The temple was built following the agamic principles. Like the Big Temple, the petitioner said Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple in Madurai and Natarajar Temple in Chidambaram were also built by following the agama rules. The Saivate saints in various Sangam literature books stated that inner peace and serenity could be enhanced only inside temples that were built as per the agamic principles. As mandated by the saints in their books, poojas and rituals must be done only in Tamil language and ancestors strictly adhered to such practice.
Further, the petitioner attributed a fire accident which occurred during consecration ceremony of Brihadeeshwarar temple earlier, to the ritual being conducted in Sanskrit language. The fire cracker lit near the temple fell on yagasalai, a temporary structure built to perform the rituals and it caught fire which resulted in a stampede when panic stricken devotees rushed to the only entrance of the temple on theeastern side.
A total of 47 people were killed and police report claimed 37 bodies were recovered. It was one of the major fire accidents in the state. Such calamitous incidents occurred only due to the usage of Sanskrit language instead of Tamil in the consecration ceremony, the petitioner argued.
After hearing him, the bench directed to include the Brihadeeshwarar temple administration as respondent in the case, which was posted to further hearingon January 27.
State forms 21-member committee to oversee Big Temple consecration
Chennai: The state government issued a Government Order (GO) to appoint a 21-member committee headed by Chief Secretary K Shanmugam to oversee the consecration of Brahadishwarar Temple in Thanjavur. According to the GO, “Thanjavur Collector wrote a letter to the state government stating that more than 10 lakh devotees are expected to participate in the consecration of the Brahadishwarar Temple and requested the government to setup a high level committee to oversee and monitor the arrangements to conduct the massive event peacefully and successfully. Considering the letter, a 21-member committee has been appointed.” Apart from the Chief Secretary, important officials including DGP, Southern Railways General Manager and Secretaries of all important departments are present in the team. Thanjavur Collector, who is also part of the committee, will also act as the convenor of the committee.
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