Viewpoint | Of Lord Muruga’s Abodes and Identity
The place has since emerged as a major flashpoint for religious politics in Tamil Nadu.
Chennai: The bomb hoax at Palani Dhandayuthapani Swamy temple on Aadi Krithigai (Thursday) prompted this columnist to reflect on how Lord Muruga temples across Tamil Nadu have remained in the limelight over the last few months— for reasons both devotional and controversial. The Thiruparankundram issue witnessed petitioners obtaining court permission to light the Karthigai Deepam atop the deepathoon on the hill, restoring a tradition that had lapsed for several decades. The Tamil Nadu government and the police refrained from immediately implementing the court orders, citing concerns over maintaining law and order and public peace. This led to high-profile contempt proceedings in the high court, followed by legal appeals before the Supreme Court. The place has since emerged as a major flashpoint for religious politics in Tamil Nadu.
This week, the Supreme Court refused to grant an interim stay on the Madras high court order permitting the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam at the 'deepathoon', while issuing notices on the Tamil Nadu government’s special leave petition.
Recently, a plot at Palani temple foothills valued at Rs 100 crore, belonging to the Dhandapani Swamigal Mutt, was fraudulently registered to private buyers last month. The Madras high court nullified the deed, and the CB-CID arrested the seller, buyers, a facilitator and the sub-registrar. Palani land scam drove the state government to order a comprehensive special audit of land records and assets across all major six Arupadaiveedu temples. In May, Subramanya Swamy temple in Tiruchendur faced major fraud and bribery controversies involving darshan ticket software manipulation scam and an undercover sting operation that exposed illegal cash collections by temple staff.
On the other hand, South Indian film industries have announced several high-profile projects drawing inspiration from the legacy, valor and mythology of Lord Muruga. While Seyon stars Sivakarthikeyan in a rugged, transformed village avatar with a backdrop of folk faith, Thamizh Murugan is an epic period film directed by Vetrimaaran, starring Dhanush as an ancient warrior king, exploring Sangam literature and Tamil identity. God of War, a big budget mythological spectacle centered on Lord Muruga, is being planned in Tollywood. When the movie producer shared an announcement poster featuring a vel-like weapon alongside the caption: ‘Born in the North... Shaped in the Centre... Worshipped in the South,’ it sparked a strong backlash on social media, with several Tamil netizens arguing that portraying the ancient Tamil deity as having originated in North India contradicted Sangam literature and the region's cultural identity.