Monday, January 31 2005 10:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kalavai: Discounting Tamil Nadu Government's stand that the Shankara Mutt premises at Kancheepuram was not a place of worship, the Mutt last night (Jan 30, 2005) asserted that it housed several idols, including that of the second Shankaracharya Sureshwara Acharya, and poojas were being performed.

Describing the Government's latest stand taken in the Madras High Court as "contradictory" to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's January 12 reply to the Prime Minister on his apprehension about a possible break in the traditional poojas, Mutt sources told reporters in Kalavai that the Chief Minister had stated that the poojas were being performed at the Mutt even in the absence of the Seers.

In a counter in the High Court on January 27 while seeking a stay on the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC) notice questioning the manner of the recent arrest of junior Seer Vijayendra Saraswathi from the Mutt premises, the Government had said that the Mutt was "not a place for either private or public worship".

The High Court had stayed further proceedings pursuant to the NHRC notice issued on January 13.

Mutt sources said that the poojas were being performed at the Mutt premises to the idols of Sri Adi Sankara and his "sishyas". It also housed an idol of lord Ganapathi dating back to over 1,500 years. Inscriptions left by various kings had stated that ghee lamps should continue to be lit without any break. This practice was being followed even now in the Mutt, they said.

Late "Paramarcharya" Chandrasekerendra Saraswathi had formed a trust under late justice Krishnasamy Reddiyar to ensure that the practice was followed, the sources said.

Claiming that the Archaeological Survey of India had confirmed that the granite stones in the Mutt were over 1,500 years old, the sources said that the regular poojas and annual aradhanas were being performed without any break.

Pujas for presiding deity of the Mutt Chandramouleeswarar and his consort Tiripura Sundari were performed by the Shankaracharyas wherever they stay, they said adding that Shankaracharya Jayendra Sarawasthi had been continuing this tradition during his camp in Kalavai since his release on bail. In an apparent reference to the Government's submission that the Kanchi Mutt could not be qualified as a place of worship as the Paramacharya had been buried there, the sources pointed out that the state Hindu Religious Charitable Endowment (HR and CE) department had brought under its control the samadhi of Pamban Swamigal, a religious leader, because it was a religious place.

The famous Lord Muruga temple at Palani was constructed on the samadhi of saint Boga.

Jayalalithaa herself had offered prayers at least twice at the Kanchi Mutt, the sources added.