Thirupparankundram lamp lighting case: Hilltop structure is not temple lamp pillar, says HR & CE

Madurai, Dec 15 The stone pillar referred to as 'Deepathoon' atop the Thirupparankundran hill near a Dargah was not a temple lamp pillar and it could be a Jain structure, the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department submitted before the Madras High Court on Monday.

There is historical and archaeological evidence to show that the structure near the Dargah, where a single judge on December 1 permitted the lighting of the lamp on Karthigai Deepam (on December 3) was a 'Samana Deepathoon' and not a temple Deepathoon meant for Karthigai Deepam, the Arulmighu Subramanya Swamy temple, Thirupparankundram, represented by its executive officer submitted before the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC.

When the Bench commenced hearing the batch of appeals against the December 1 order today, the counsel argued that the structure near the Uchchipillaiyar Temple was the authentic Deepathoon associated with the temple.

The department placed a book written in 1920 by a scholar named Bose that recorded the traditional location where the Karthigai Deepam was lit. A 1981 publication of the Tamil Nadu Archaeology Department with a forward written by renowned scholar Nagaswamy was also submitted to the division Bench comprising Justice G Jayachandran and Justice K K Ramakrishnan, hearing the appeals by state authorities challenging Justice G R Swaminathan’s order in the Karthigai Deepam lamp lighting on Deepathoon case.

Senior counsel N Jyothi stated that the TN HR & CE clearly prescribed procedures for religious practices and temple administration.

Senior advocate T Mohan, appearing for the Dargah, said if every devotee was to have his own opinion on how something should be done, then there won’t be an end to it.

Senior counsel S Sridhar submitted that for over a century, the Karthigai Deepam was traditionally lit only at the Uchchipillaiyar Temple. He argued that the petitioner was attempting to change long-pending temple customs, which were not a legally enforceable individual right.