Podhu Dikshithars admit to committing ‘lapse’ in permitting marriage

Chennai: A section of the Podhu Dikshitars who solemnised the marriage of a Sivakasi family in the Thousand-pillared mandapam (hall), where only the celestial wedding of the Lord is performed, is facing the ire of Hindus and the BJP who have demanded stern action on them for violating the sanctity of the ancient Lord Natarajar temple for 'pecuniary advantage.'

Even as a few Dikshitars confessed to the police that they have committed a 'lapse' in permitting the marriage function, BJP functionary Gopinath Ganesan who took the issue before the Chidambaram police insisted stern and appropriate action on them. As the renowned temple in Chidambaram (in Cuddalore district in the State) is being administered by the Podhu Dikshatars - a hereditary Vaideeka Brahmins who follow Vedic rituals and they form a completely separate entity among the Brahmins, the police have summoned seven Dikshitars and the marriage parties for a meeting on September  23 to finally decide on the issue.

Though weddings are performed in the Pandiyanayakar Sannathi in the temple, the 1000-pillar hall is used only for the special festival occasions such as the celestial marriage of the deities and Arudhra darshan. But Friday's wedding at the famed Rajasabai (the 1,000-pillared hall) transformed the immense hall into a star hotel.

The BJP functionary Gopinath who came to know about the hall being used for 'commercial' purpose, preferred a complaint with the Chidamabram town police demanding appropriate action on the Dikshitars.

As the issue became alarming with the locals beginning to protest, the temple administration suspended two priests for about three months.

On Monday, during the police enquiry, a section of Dikshitars admitted to a 'lapse' and gave an undertaking that they would refrain from making such mistakes in future.

Though the police sought to know why the marriage was permitted in the 1,000 pillared hall where only important festivals such as Arudra darshan and Aani Thirumanjanam associated with the Lord Natarajar are celebrated, they could not elicit proper answer from the priests, said sources.

Refusing to accept their explanation, Gopinath insisted that the priests had committed a historical blunder in violating the sanctity of the temple and demanded the police to initiate stern action against them.

Meeting on Sept. 23
Hoping to settle the issue once for all, the police have called the seven Dikshitars and the marriage parties for a meeting on Sept. 23. The industrialist's family, which runs a cracker unit in Sivakasi and a shop in Chennai involved in consumer durables, had celebrated the wedding in an ostentatious manner.