The 2022 Annual “Brahmothsavam Festival” of the famous Sri Varadaraja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram has been been celebrated this fortnight with tumultuous popular fanfare, piety, ardor and religious exuberance. It climaxed in the great “Garuda Seva” procession of the Deity through the streets of the town where hundreds of thousands of devotees from all all over Tamil Nadu state thronged to offer worship. What a magnificent religious spectacle indeed! It was witnessed in Kanchipuram this year again after an unfortunate hiatus of two years when the Brahmothsavam festival could not be staged due to the terrible Covid-19 pandemic!
After the great festival concludes this week, the crowds of devotees and laity will quickly disperse from the temple town of Kanchipuram and return happily to their homes — spiritually charged and energized by the experience. Yet one group of devotees in Kanchipuram, however, will remain glum and distraught. Their mood by contrast will not be as happy. They are the two rival camps of Sri Vaishnavas of Tamil Nadu known as the Tenkalai and Vadakalai sects. Their mental state, in fact, after what they have witnessed as bitter, rancorous exchanges in courts of law in Chennai in the last few days, can best be described as disgust and hopelessness.
Why? What happened? What were the events? And what have Courts got to do with them?
What happened was a flare-up of a sectarian rivalry between the two sects that is more than 200 year-old. It simply refuses to die as any reasonable man would expect shameful anachronisms of history usually do.
Here is a brief chronology of the sorry events in Kanchipuram last week that led to and followed the Brahmothsavam. It is being traced by quoting the columns published in several newspapers that prominently reported them as high-profile court cases:
If you the reader have not much patience scouring newspaper columns to know the details, here in brief summary is how the ugly fracas broke out:
How can Tenkalai sect alone be permitted to recite Srisaila Dayapathram and Vadakalai prevented from reciting Desika Prabandam? asks Vadakalai litigant:
The Madras High Court ordered maintenance of status quo with respect to recitation of hymns inside the Devarajaswamy (aka Sri Varadarajaswamy Perumal Temple) in Kancheepuram since an order passed by the Executive Trustee earlier in the week, permitting the Tenkalai sect alone to recite hymns in praise of Manavala Mamunigal and preventing the Vadakalai from reciting hymns in praise of Vedanta Desikar, had been put to challenge.
The Judge partly heard arguments advanced by the State Advocate General appearing on behalf of the Government as well as a senior counsel representing a writ petitioner of the Vadakalai sect. He adjourned the case hearing by three days. Till then, he ordered maintenance of status quo as it prevailed before the passing of the Executive Trustee’s order which had been challenged before the court.
In an affidavit filed before the Court, the Vadakalai group prayed for urgent hearing of their writ petition since the Brahmotsavam of the temple was on and the Vadakalai sect alone had been denied its right to recite Desika Prabandam, Ramanuja Dayapathram, Vaazhi Thirunamam and other litanies and hymns in praise of its spiritual guru.
Though the Executive Trustee, an officer in the rank of Assistant Commissioner in Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department, had, in his order, claimed that a series of court orders passed since 1910 permit only the recitation of Srisaila Dayapathram litany in praise of the guru of the Tenkalai’s, Sri Manavala Mamunigal, the writ petitioner refuted such claim and contended that the temple itself belongs to the Vadakalai sect and hence the latter could not be denied their right.
The Vadakalais said that the Sampradhayas (customs) of the temple flow from the Thathaachaarya community who belong to the Vadakalai sect. The temple was renovated by the Cholas in 1053 but during the Mughal invasion in 1688, the idol of the main deity was sent to a remote village called Udayarpalayam. The deity was brought back to Kancheepuram only in 1711 and it was since then the Tenkalai sect had begun to claim exclusive rights over the temple.
“At the said point in time, one of the pontiffs in Srirangam area by name Athaanjeeyar is believed to have threatened the people belonging to Thathaachaarya sect calling upon them to sign an agreement by which the said Jeeyar, belonging to Tenkalai group, had demanded for rights to sing the Azhwaars’ Tamil Prabhandam in Kancheepuram temples failing which he would not return the idol. It is through this alleged agreement that the present Tenkalai sect is claiming rights in the temple,” the Vadakalai petitioners said.
Further, referring to several cases filed since 1844, the petitioner insisted that both Vadakalai and Tenkalai must be given the right to recite hymns.
The Judge after the hearing ruled as follows:
‘Vadakalai and Tenkalai sects must have mutual respect for each other’
Observing that tolerance is the hallmark of Hinduism and that the Vadakalai as well as the Tenkalai sects of Vaishnavites must have mutual respect for each other, the Madras High Court judge ordered that both of them should be allowed to recite hymns at the Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram.
He however granted the Tenkalai sect what may be called “primus inter pares” — “first among equals” status! He ordered that the Tenkalais shall be permitted to sit in the first two or three rows during the recitation inside the temple and in the festivities since they had accrued such a right through a series of litigations that had been taking place since 1844 and the Vadakalai shall be seated behind them, followed by the other devotees.
The judge directed the Executive Trustee of the temple — an official in the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department — to regulate the seating arrangements during the recitation without affecting the discipline and decorum of the rituals and puja activities.
It was further ordered that the Tenkalai sect should be permitted to commence their initial recital of their litany, Srisaila Dayapathram, and thereafter, the Vadagalai sect should be permitted to chant their initial litany, Sri Ramanuja Dayapathram. Afterwards, both the sects and the other devotees should jointly chant the Naalayira Divya Prabandham of the holy Azhwaars who were Tamil saints of yore and venerated as Achaaryas common to both the groups.
Stating that Naalayira Divya Prabandham was also described as the Tamil Marai or Dravida Vedam or Dravida Prabandham, the judge said though it was in Tamil, the anthology was chanted by all Dravidians of all denominations, including the Kannadigas and the Telugu-speaking people, and hence, it was also called Dravida Vedam too, the judge observed.
He went on then to order that such chanting must happen without disrupting the pujas and without causing any inconvenience or “nuisance” to other worshippers. On completing the chanting of Naalayira Divya Prabandham, the Tenkalai sect should be allowed to recite Manavalamamunigal Vaazhi Thirunamam in praise of their guru and then the Vadakalais should recite Desikan Vaazhi Thirunamam in praise of their Acharya, Sri Vedanta Desika.
The Executive Trustee of the temple was directed to monitor the observance of rituals by both sects. In the event of any violation of court orders leading to non-maintenance of discipline and decorum, the officer was ordered to initiate all appropriate action in the manner known to law, including penal actions.
Since the Brahmotsavam was ongoing, the judge directed the officer to record the proceedings on video and produce the recordings along with a compliance report on the day after the festival concluded. The interim orders were passed on a writ petition filed on behalf of the Vadakalai sect against an order passed by the Executive Trustee.
The State Advocate General said the Temple executive trustee had no other go but to permit the Tenkalai sect alone to recite hymns in praise of Manavala Mamunigal, as per court orders passed since 1910, and not allow the Vadakalai to recite hymns in praise of Vedanta Desika since such a recital lead to frequent quarrel and disruption of prayers in the temple.
On the other hand, the Vadakalai petitioners argued that the Vadakalai sect only wanted to assert the right to recite hymns in praise of their Guru and that they were not opposed to any such similar recitals by the Tenkalai.
After hearing all of them, the Judge recalled that in 1969, a Division Bench of the High Court had said: “It is a pity that these two sects of Vaishnavites, who profess to be the followers of great saints and savants, are so intolerant to each other even in respect of small and unimportant rituals and ceremonies. We can only hope that the people belonging to these two sects will realise the futility of this kind of useless and wasteful litigation and stop their acrimonious fight.”
The wise words of the Judge fell on deaf ears and failed to move stony hearts.
Not happy with the order of the Judge, the Tenkalai group further filed an appeal against it to a higher Bench of the Court in Chennai the following day.
According to the appellants, the single judge had failed to consider the fact that the Tenkalai sect held the exclusive adhyapaka rights for the prabandham service in Devarajaswamy temple, and they alone had the right of service of reciting the Tamil prabandhams before the deity during all pujas and processions inside and outside the temple.
They also claimed that their right had been unequivocally recognized and confirmed by the High Court in a judgment delivered on January 15, 1915, and also in another verdict delivered by the court on March 24, 1969. They also claimed that the court had, in an appeal preferred in 1910, injuncted the Vadakalai sect from reciting any of their prabandhams or mantras during puja and processions.
After the rancorous hearings, the higher Court ruled that the single judge’s direction permitting both Vadakalai and Tenkalai sects of Vaishnavites to recite hymns at the Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram be kept in abeyance. The Bench said the Executive Trustee’s May 14 order permitting the Tenkalai sect alone to recite the hymns shall also be kept in abeyance.
The Courts themselves were incapable of deciding whether the right to religious worship — which is a fundamental right — extended equally also to the right to participate in rituals that were integral to that form of worship.
- Were rituals and observations — such as those conducted in the temple of Kanchipuram during the brahmotsavam — prescribed under a religion and forming an integral part of that religion, also covered under the freedom of religion and worship enshrined under Article 25(1) of the Constitution?
- Should such right of worship guaranteed under the Constitution be respected by all concerned and, therefore, no devotee can be denied their right of worship under any circumstances?
The whole matter thus hangs in precarious balance today!
Normally, after the brahmotsavam at Kanchipuram concludes, once they return to their homes, people simply choose to forget all about the unsavory incidents that they had witnessed. The newspaper reports that they had read only a few days before — in anger, disgust and sadness — will have by then faded away from their minds. In a month thereafter, most Sri Vaishnavas’ memories will fail too. They will then not even bother to follow the Court proceedings that even by then would be dragging endlessly on in the matter.
The apathy and attitude of benign resignation that has afflicted the community will remain unchanged. With a nonchalant shrug of their collective shoulders, the Sri Vaishnavas will say to themselves:
“Oh, but these sorts of things have been going on for centuries at Kanchipuram and other temples of ours… Nothing will put an end to it. It is all the Will of God — it is his “divine sport” (bhagavath leelaigal”) ! Sri Varadarajaswami Perumal himself seems to revel in it! It’s his “bhagavath sankalpam” that we should keep fighting like this! What can anyone do?!”
Never do the Sri Vaishnavas ask themselves the question: “Why do these petty sectarian squabbles happen so often only in our temples… and that too especially in Kanchipuram?! Do we hear of similar such sectarian infighting amongst the Saivites in their temples? Or those of the Smartaas? Do we hear of them going all the way to Courtrooms in High Courts and to the Supreme Court of the land to seek arbitration and redressal for petty grievances arising from temple worship, ritual and protocol?“
I am an Unusual, Unknown Sri Vaishnava and I find I am unable to just forget and shrug off the outrage that I genuinely felt while witnessing all that had happened at the 2022 Brahmotsavam of Kanchipuram Sri Devaraja Swami temple. I cannot help it if I find myself plunging into a mood of somber introspection on the matter as I try desperately to make sense of it all and, if possible, to find some honourable solutions to cure this plague that affects my community and suggest them to the laity at large.
While the Court of Law mulls over the matter over the next few weeks, or perhaps months even, before it pronounces its verdict on the matter, I believe it would be worthwhile for all good Sri Vaishnavas today to reflect deeply on a few important questions facing their community, its cultural identity, religious pedigree and moral standing in the eyes of the rest of Indian society.
- Why should Kanchipuram Devaraja Swamy Temple remain a perennial “hot spot” for the Tenkalai Vs Vadakalai sectarian conflict?
2. What is to be gained by either sect fighting tooth-and-nail, hammer-and-tongs after more than 250 years of similar squabbling?
3. How does the rift between Tenkalai and Vadakalai reflect upon the larger community of Sri Vaishnavas across the country and the world — and especially upon young generations growing up within it?
………..(to be continued)