Court seeks details of temple lands

The Madras High Court has granted four months to the revenue authorities to collect all details relating to lands belonging to various temples in Tamil Nadu and hand them over in compact discs to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department.

The First Bench comprising Chief Justice M.Y.Eqbal and Justice T.S.Sivagnanam passed the order on a public interest litigation petition by the International Sri Vaishnava Dharma Samrakshana Society, represented by its president, Swamy Govinda Ramanujadasa, Nungambakkam, seeking a direction to the authorities to implement the G.O. of November 23, 2009. The petitioner said this would enable the authorities to defend the cases pending before the court. Nearly 4.78 lakh acres of lands belonged to temples in the State.

As per the G.O., the government had directed the Commissioner of Land Survey and Settlement to send the compact discs by scanning all the details of the temple lands. It also directed the Commissioner to take comprehensive efforts to collect all the details from the Archives Department and Collectorates concerned.

When the matter came up before Messrs.Justices Eqbal and Sivagnanam, the Commissioner filed a counter stating as per the directions in the G.O., all Collectors had been requested to send a detailed report in respect of the expenditure to be incurred, other requirements etc., for giving effect to the G.O. Complying with the directions, details of property in respect of eight districts – Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Tirupur, Tiruchirappalli, Sivaganga, Tiruvarur and Tirunelveli – had been received. Particulars with regard to Tiruvarur and Tirunelveli had already been sent to the Assistant Commissioner, HR and CE department. Reports from the other districts are awaited.

The matter will come up after four months for filing of status report by the authorities.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3348275.ece 

Angry mob drives away newly posted priests at Thiruvahindrapuram temple

A.V. RAGUNATHAN

Samprokshanam will be held as scheduled on April 25: Executive Officer

The move of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department to bring in two outside priests to replace senior Bhattacharyars of the renowned Sri Devanatha Swamy temple at Thiruvahindrapuram near here faced with stiff resistance and resulted in law and order problem.

The two priests from Sri Uppiliyappan Temple at Kumbakonam, namely Dwarakanatha Bhattacharyar (42) and Kannan Bhattacharyar (41) who have been temporarily drafted for duty in the place of their two senior counterparts Neelamegham Bhattacharyar (83) and his son Narasimha Bhattacharayar in the Thiruvahindrapuram temple, one of the 108 Divya Desams, had become the target of attack by the so-called local people on Thursday.

The two priests accompanied by Vijayaraghavan alias Kutti Kannan (42), who recites the Vedas in Sri Uppiliayppan Temple, came to Thiruvahindrapuram in the evening to take charge. However, even before they set foot inside the temple a group of people blocked their car at the entry point and unleashed violence.

Mr. Vijayaraghavan told The Hindu that he just accompanied the two Bhattacharyars to offer prayer at the Thiruvahindrapuram temple. When the mob damaged the front windshield of the brand new hired car he got baffled and got down to assess the situation.

But soon he was surrounded by scores of frenzied persons who started landing punches all over his body and somebody hit his head from behind. This forced Mr. Vijayaraghavan to take shelter in a nearby house to escape from the fury of the mob.

The two Bhattacharyars who were seated in the car told the driver to go to the Thiruvahindrapuram police station where they lodged the complaint. Mr. Dwarakanatha Bhattacharyar told this correspondent that they had come to Thiruvahindrapuram on the direction of the Assistant Commissioner of HR & CE Department J. Bharanidharan who is also the In-charge Assistant Commissioner of the Thiruvahindrapuram temple.

The official told them that since there were certain hurdles in performing pujas at the Thiruvahindrapuram temple, where the Samprokshanam was scheduled to take place on April 25, it would be appropriate for them to go there and take up the responsibility temporarily, until further orders.

Mr. Dwarakanatha Bhattacharayar said that he was not in the know of things as to what had been happening in the Thiruvahindrapuram temple. However, the Assistant Commissioner had given them an assurance that nothing untoward would happen as adequate protective measures were put in place.

However, Mr. Dwarakanatha Bhattacharyar said that they were taken by shock and surprise that they were virtually greeted with brickbats and choicest epithets, and of course with physical assault and threat. It made them to beat a hasty retreat.

He categorically said that it was never their intention to usurp the place of or to emerge as competitors to the already serving Bhattacharyars. It was only on the request of the HR & CE official that they had to act in an expeditious situation that they obliged.

Already they were too busy with Sri Uppiliyappan Temple and therefore they would not be able to take up any sort of assignment in the Thiruvahindrapuram temple.

On the basis of their complaint the police have arrested nine persons. A police contingent has been posted at the temple to maintain peace.

Two notices

Assistant Commissioner (HR & CE) J. Bharanidharan had issued a notice on August 18: retiring Neelamegha Bhattacharyar from the temple services because he had far exceeded the 60-year-age limit stipulated in the HR & CE Act.

In his place the Assistant Commissioner had appointed his son Narasimha Bhattacharyar to carry on the temple rituals. However, on April 19 the appointment of Narasimha Bhattacharyar was cancelled and he was placed under suspension on the pretext that he was facing certain (unexplained) charges.

Narasimha Bhattacharyar has also been directed to hand over all the valuables and property belonging to the temple and also other contributions made by the devotees to the Bhattacharyars who were posted in their place.

However, allaying fears over the performance of Samprokshanam Executive Officer K. Nagarajan categorically said that it would be conducted as per schedule on April 25.

He hinted that a detailed inquiry into the allegations against Narasimha Bhattacharyar would follow after the temple function.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article3338492.ece  

A hoary temple and an unholy priest

It's is one of the 108 holy shrines (Divya Desams) of Vaishnavites. It is here that the Vaishnavite seer Sri Vedantha Desikar sat on penance and obtained the blessings of Lord Hayagreevar. It's here that he came up with the hundreds of religious hymns and the spiritual treatises. It looks majestic and pristine with a flowing river (Gadilam) at the back and flanked by Hayagreevar hills on either side.

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We are talking about the Sri Devanathaswamy temple at  Thiruvanthipuram near Cuddalore, just a 4-hour drive from here. Alas, such a heritage-filled holy temple is now at the risk of losing all its glory, as it seems to have come under the vice-like grip of an unholy priest. Though falling under the ambit of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) department, the temple seems to have become the private property of the Bhattar (temple priest) and his family. As a case in point to the disturbing state of affairs here, the locals draw our attention to the suspension of 'Veda Parayanam' (chanting of Vedas), a devotional de rigueur in temples as a prelude (and accompaniment) to the regular pujas. Both in the mornings and evenings, the Vedas are recited after scholars chanted 'Hari Om'. This practice, initiated by Sri Ramanuja himself, has been in vogue for several thousand years. However, in October 2011, the temple secretary, apparently under the advice of the temple priest, prohibited the chanting of 'Hari Om' and Vedas here. Interestingly, he had no such authority to issue such an order. Though spiritualists and the 'Veda Parayana Kainkarya Mirasu' appealed to the officials of the HR & CE at different levels, all pleas fell on deaf ears for almost five months. Finally they managed to bring the issue to the notice of Commissioner of the HR & CE department. The temple secretary was changed, but the 'ban' on reciting 'Hari Om' was not lifted and no action was taken on the temple priest. What is saddening in the whole episode is that there is no salary paid to those who recite vedas in the temple. They have dedicated their entire life for the service of Sri Devanatha Perumal. But the needless clamp down on them only proves that the situation is fast slipping into the territory of anarchy let loose by one man. Further, renovation works were said to be on for almost three years in the temple, which is set for Maha Samprokshanam on 25 April. Sadly, but for the Bhattar, no one knows what renovation was actually carried out. There was no committee to oversee the works, and the locals were not allowed to participate in the renovation activities. The temple priest issued advertisements in his own name in the media and collected funds. No proper account has been maintained. Again, the doors of the HR & CE department was knocked at by many, but again to no avail. The ones who protested the most against the total lack of transparency in the operations were the reciters of the veda. And it is no surprise that they were silenced by a totally arbitrary order.   Proper reciepts are given to devotees who donate jewels and  vasthrams in all temples under the control of the HR & CE department. Unfortunately here, no reciepts are given to the devotees, and even if one approaches the office seeking a reciept, the temple priest does not allow the jewels and vasthrams given by the devotee to be adorned on the Almighty. The performance of Thirumanjanam by devotees too is at the mercy of the priest here. Unlike other temples, there are no special days to perform the Thirumanjanams, and all is decided the temple priest. Interestingly, the temple priest has filed a case stating that the temple is his private property and obtained orders preventing the HR & CE department from keeping hundials inside the temple. However, the temple priest has put a private hundial near the main sanctum santorum, and appointed a person who can be seen urging people to make their contributions in that hundial. Sadly, the officials of HR & CE are maintaining a stoic silence over the issue. If the locals raise any objection over the activities of the temple priest, he stalemates their efforts by not performing any of the rituals and by not distributing the holy water and prasadams. With the samprokshanam round the corner, devotees want things to be set in order. The locals say poojas should be conducted and veda parayanam should begin with the chanting of 'Hari Om', as initiated by Sri Ramanuja. They are now looking up to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to intervene and help salvage a temple that seems to have fallen into wrong hands. http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=28186%20&%20section=6

NHAI to demolish 1300 year old Shiva Temple

Chaitra Krushna Pratiapada,Kaliyug Varsha 5114

The temple at Panaiyapuram that has been marked for demolition to facilitate NH expansion

Vikkiravandi (Tamilnadu) : A 1,300-year old Siva temple, celebrated in the verses of Saivite saint Tirugnana Sambandar and boasting of inscriptions belonging to the Chola kings, is facing demolition by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The Tirupuravar Panankateesvarar temple is situated in Panaiyapuram village, two km from Vikkiravandi in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. The Pennaiyar flows near Panaiyapuram. The temple is also called Paravaipuram.

The NHAI, which is widening the Vikkiravandi –Thanjavur National Highway 45C, over a distance of about 160 km, has painted big arrow marks in white on the compound wall of the temple and inside its premises, where the widened road will cut through.

The NHAI has placed stones outside the temple to signify the portions that will be lost to the highway's widening. If this plan goes through, the temple's sanctum sanctorum for Panankateesvarar, the adjacent shrine for the goddess Satyambikai and much of the temple premises including other shrines, will be demolished. This has shocked and angered about 4,000 Panaiyapuram villagers and residents of Pappanapattu, Mundiyambakkam, Kappiyampuliyur and Thuravi villages. They met the Villupuram District Collector, V. Sampath, and submitted a petitionto him.

Strong Stand

R.P. Pugazhendhi, former president of the Panaiyapuram panchayat, said: “We are spending sleepless nights. Almost the entire temple including the sanctum, the shrines for goddess Satyambikai, Ganesa and Muruga will be demolished. Only the flag-post and the shrine for Saneesvarar will remain. There is enough land on the west of the temple for the broadened highway to go through or a new alignment can be given from the National Highway 45. We will not allow even a single stone from the temple to be removed.”

R. Nagaswamy, former Director, Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department, said that the 1,300-year old temple was visited by the Tamil Savite saint Tirugnana Sambandar, who lived in the seventh century CE, and had sung verses celebrating the deity, a Sivalinga. The Sivalinga is called Panankateesvarar because the area abounds with palmyra trees.

The temple has a number of inscriptions belonging to Rajendra Chola I (regnal years 1012 CE to 1043 CE), his son, Rajendra Chola II, Adhi Rajendra, Kulotunga I, Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I and Vikrama Pandya among others.

Rajendra Chola's inscription called the deity Nethrodharaka Swami (meaning, the main deity will cure eye ailments). The inscription recorded the gift of land and money for worship and making offerings in the temple. It spoke about Rajendra Chola's conquest of Kadaram. (The present-day Kedda in Malaysia was called Kadaram and it belonged to Sri Vijaya kingdom). It revealed that the Chola emperor rebuilt the main temple between 1025 CE and 1040 CE, pointed out Dr. Nagaswamy.

“Another important aspect of the village is that it is also named Paravaipuram,” he said. Paravai was the consort of Tamil Saivite saint Sundarar, who lived in the eighth century CE. Paravai belonged to a family of dancing girls and she is worshipped even today, along with Sundarar, in Siva temples. Rajendra Chola I also had a personal assistant called Paravai, who was an ‘anukki.' This Paravai was named after Sundarar's consort. (Female personal assistants, who were trusted by the kings, were called anukki and anukkan were their male counterparts). Paravai built the Thyagaraja temple at Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu and covered the vimana with gold, said Dr. Nagaswamy .

Hounouring Paravai

To honour her, Rajendra Chola I made her sit next to him in his royal chariot and drove her in a procession on the four main streets around the Thyagaraja temple. The Chola emperor made two bronze images resembling her and placed them before the deity in the Tiruvarur temple's sanctum and worshipped them. “This is recorded in a long inscription in the Tiruvarur temple,” said Dr. Nagaswamy, a scholar in epigraphy. Rajendra Chola I re-built the Panaiyapuram temple in Paravai's honour, when she was alive and the town around the temple was named after her.

The temple has two inscriptions of Rajendra Chola II (regnal years 1052 to 1064 CE), both datable to 1058 CE. One of the inscriptions mentions his gift of paddy to “Paravai Easwaramudaiyar Mahadeva in the town of Paravaipuram in Panaiyur Nadu”, falling under the larger division called “Rajendra Chola Valanadu.”

The temple has an inscription of Adhi Rajendra, who ruled from 1068 to 1071 CE. This inscription, dated 1070 CE, records the gift of tax-free land to the temple by a merchants' guild of Paravaipuram to feed the pilgrims. There is a record of Kulotunga Chola I (regnal years 1070-1122 CE) on the gift of gold coins by a chieftain named Ponnambala Kizhan of Arumbakkam, near present-day Chennai, for lighting a perpetual lamp.

“An interesting point about the Panaiyapuram temple”, said Dr. Nagaswamy, “is that on the first day of the Tamil month of Chithirai every year, the sun rays fall on the Sivalinga enshrined in the sanctum and the idol of Satyambikai. The temple's orientation is so perfect that this happens and special pujas are offered.”

S. Ganesa Gurukkal, the temple priest, was emphatic that the villagers would take all steps needed to save the temple. “We went to Chennai and gave a petition to the NHAI officials,” he said.

When contacted, an NHAI official said, “We are trying to save the temple. We are trying to look at other options. The NHAI headquarters has been informed about the villagers' objections.”

Source : The Hindu

Temple committee members demand retrieval of land from encroachers

Women members cook ‘pongal' on the middle of the road

Members of the Committee for the Retrieval of Periya Mariamman Temple Land cooking pongal on the Thiruvenkatasamy street in Erode on Thursday.—PHOTO: M. GOVARTHAN

Members of the Committee for the Retrieval of Periya Mariamman Temple Land cooked ‘pongal' (sweet rice) on the middle of the road here on Thursday urging the State government to initiate immediate efforts to retrieve the lands belonging to the temple from encroachers.

A number of women members set up temporary ovens on the Thiruvenkatasamy Street and cooked the sweet rice. They wanted the government to remove the encroachments on the lands belonging to the Periya Mariamman temple.

The committee members also wanted the government to implement the 80-feet-road project to ease the traffic congestion in the town. If implemented, it would establish better road connectivity between the Erode Railway Junction and Brough road, they pointed out.

Earlier, the members took out a procession, which was flagged off on the Eshwaran Temple premises. Committee president Chandrasekar led the procession. Police had made heavy security arrangements. Superintendent of Police S. Paner Selvam and senior officials monitored the arrangements.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article3286257.ece  

Over 1,000 temples set to get a facelift

Annadhanam scheme to be extended to 50 more shrines

As many as 1,006 temples have been selected for renovation and consecration in the next financial year, Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam announced in the Budget on Monday.

An identical number of temples were renovated and consecrated in 2011-12.

The Annadhanam scheme, a brainchild of Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, which is being implemented in 468 temples, will be extended to 50 more temples during 2012-13. The kitchens of temples where this scheme is implemented will be modernised to provide hygienic food to devotees.

Besides, he said, the Chief Minister had ordered that the duration of annadhanam at the Sri Ranganatha Swami Temple, Srirangam, and Dandayuthapani Swami Temple, Palani, would be virtually throughout the day — from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Ongoing works

Referring to ongoing works, he said that the construction of a yatri niwas at Srirangam, estimated to cost Rs.25 crore, was in progress. A cable car would be provided at the Palani temple.

Special initiative

“As another special initiative, the Chief Minister has ordered the conduct of spiritual and moral classes on all Saturdays in important temples to make our children imbibe the high moral and ethical values enshrined in our ancient literature.” The children would be provided with snacks during such classes and awards be distributed to those who excel.

The Minister announced that the Special Revenue Units and Revenue Courts would be further strengthened for the speedy retrieval of temple property and settling disputes with regard to temple lands.

Tamil development

In addition to the number of awards already instituted, two more awards — Kapilar Award and U.Ve.Sa Award — would be given to eminent Tamils scholars and Tamil Thaai Award presented to Tamil organisations rendering yeoman service for the development of Tamil.

The renovation of the Kamarajar Mandapam at Kanyakumari and Kamarajar Ninaivu Illam in Chennai will be taken up next financial year.

TN Tourism to launch 10 special tour packages

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Limited will soon launch 10 special tour packages in an attempt to give tourists visiting Tamil Nadu a chance to experience religious architecture and soak them in divine fervour in Hindu religious sites in the state. 

Carrying forward the idea of launching a one-day tour to all important temples in the state as announced by Tamil Nadu Tourism Minister Gokula Indira in the state Assembly last year, TTDCL has come up with 10 special packages that includes visits to notable religious sites in the state. 

The packages include a tour to nine Nagarathar temples in Sivaganga district -Illaiyathangudi, Illupaikudi,Iranikoil, Mathur, Nemam, Pillaiyarpatti, Soorakudi, Vairavankovil, and Velangudi temples near Karaikudi. 

Another tour includes visit to Divya Desam temples in Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur districts and a tour to Thirukkadaiyur temple in Nagapattinam district. 

TTDCL also has tours to Yelagiri Hills and Kolli Hills for those interested in hiking and trekking. 

Another interesting package in the bouquet of tours is exclusively organised around places that held importance during the nation's freedom struggle. 

Named 'Freedom Fighters' Circuit Tour,' it takes tourists around places associated with the freedom struggle and memorials and birthplaces of freedom fighters from the state. 

These packages will be launched this month, going by the government order passed on February 29 in this regard, TTDC sources said. 

PTI 
http://zeenews.india.com/news/tamil-nadu/tn-tourism-to-launch-10-special-tour-packages_761698.html