Tamil Nadu Palani temple row | Who's a Hindu, asks Agama expert
No direct reference to ban on entry of non-Hindus in any Agama text, says Sathyavel Muruganar; TN govt yet to decide on appeal or implementation of HC order
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department of Tamil Nadu to maintain a register at all Hindu temples and record the details of non-Hindus who visit the temple.
Quoting a couple of instances when non-Hindus allegedly entered temples for non-religious purposes, Justice S Srimathy said boards should be installed at all Hindu temples saying non-Hindus are not permitted beyond the flagpole. A temple should be maintained with reverence as mentioned in Agamas, as it is not a picnic or tourist spot. 'Agama' broadly refers to traditional knowledge that has been passed down over centuries.
To appeal or not
Sources to The Federal the HR&CE department has convened meetings with Agama experts and legal advisors to decide on whether to appeal to the Supreme Court or to implement the High Court order.
The High Court direction followed a petition by D Senthil Kumar of Palani, who is also the organiser of the Palani Hill Temple Devotees Organisation. He sought a direction to the temple authorities to install the board at the Arulmigu Dandayudhapani Swami temple at Palani in Tamil Nadu's Dindugal district, stating: “Non-Hindus are not allowed on the temple premises.” This, he claimed, was present earlier and removed during renovation work and not replaced.
When The Federal spoke to HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu, he said: “We are yet to receive the physical order copy from the court. We have to discuss with it Agama experts and advocates. We obey court proceedings. But we need time to decide on this matter.”
Asked if the government has any plans to file an appeal against the direction, he said: “As of now we have not decided to file an appeal. We will come up with a decision only after considering the views of experts.”
High-level meeting
Informed sources said the HR&CE department is not sure about installing boards to ban the entry of non-Hindus.
“A high-level meeting is being organised in the next few days. No decision has been taken related to boards," said an officer on the condition of anonymity.
"As of now, in a few temples, boards are there but not in prominent places. In a few temples, foreigners and people from other religions were not allowed to enter the artha mandapam (sanctum sanctorum). But, as of now, this is not followed in all temples,” the officer said.
What Agamas say
The Federal spoke to Sathyavel Muruganar, an Agama expert and an advisor to the HR&CE department.
Sathyavel Muruganar, Agama expert
He said: “There is no direct reference to ban the entry of non-Hindus in any Agama text. Smartha Brahmins (Shaivites) who believe only in the Vedas and do not have any faith in idol worship are banned from entering the inner premises of the temple. They are allowed till the flagpost of the temple."
"The Agamas say if they enter the temple beyond the flagpost, the temple has to be purified with consecration. They are defined by a term ‘milachar’, which means 'Smartha Brahmins'. They are known as people from a different country or who do not accept the values as followed by people who are into idol worship," said Muruganar.
He said this cannot be used as a blanket ban to stop the entry of non-Hindus, particularly when there is no definition in the Constitution as to who are non-Hindus.
Who are Hindus?
“The term 'Hindus' refers to Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, Shaivites, Vaishnavites, Sanatana, people who follow Saktham, Ganapathiyam, Gowmaram, Sowram as religion. It is important to note that all these different terms are conflicting each other but their followers are considered Hindus," said Muruganar.
"The Agamas were written before the term 'Hindu' was used in practice. However, the Agamas do not explain anything against non-believers in toto. There is no mention anywhere about atheists, and Agama has no bias against atheists because God has no such distinguishing element towards any creatures. So, a blanket ban is not possible,” he argued.
He added that the Agama reference and quotations should have been given in the court order.