While the world celebrates places such as as the Colosseum in Rome, infamous for the bloody gladiator games, as one of the seven wonders of the world, Tamil Nadu has been blessed with “natural wonders” in the form of ancient temples which offer divine experiences, the Madras High Court has said.
Acting Chief Justice T. Raja and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy wrote that one such natural wonder was the shrine of Lord Muruga at the Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple atop the Palani hills in Dindigul district. They said, thousands of devotees had claimed to have got cured of diseases after consuming the holy milk and Panchamirtham (a mash up of five sweet ingredients) offered in the temple.
The judges said, it took two millennia to construct The Great Wall of China which got completed only in the early 1600s and that the Colosseum in Rome was also built only in 70 A.D. Even the Taj Mahal was built between 1631 and 1648 but the idol of Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy was created 3,000 years before Christ.
Mystic Yogi Bhogar had created the idol using nine poisonous substances called Navabhashana. He did so after gaining knowledge in medicine, astrology, spirituality, yoga and so on, and after anticipating that in due course of time, human beings would suffer from large number of damning diseases. The Yogi had used 1,448 rare herbs to create the nine poisonous substances which when amalgamated, turned into a medicine capable of curing even deadly diseases. “Being a legendary Siddhar, who hailed by birth from the caste of goldsmiths, he finally became a Siddhapurusha under the guidance of Kalinganaath,” the judges wrote.
“Bhogar is believed to have confided with his disciple Pulippani that if milk and Panchamirtham are poured on the idol and after a few minutes, if they are taken and consumed by anyone, it would cure all the human diseases. Thousands of devotees who consumed the holy milk and panchamirtham, had claimed that they were healed,” the Bench added.
Authoring the order, the Acting Chief Justice said, Bhogar had attained Jeeva Samadhi and had dug a chamber for himself under the idol of Dhandayuthapaniswamy. “Devotees visiting the holy shrine of Lord Dhandayuthapaniswamy also realise the fullest satisfaction on visiting the Siddhar’s samadhi,” he observed.
PIL petition against cutting short Mandalabhishekam rituals
The observations were made while disposing of a public interest litigation petition moved by temple activist T.R. Ramesh against a decision taken by the Palani temple administration to cut short the Mandalabhishekam rituals for three days and not perform them for 48 days due to the impending Thai Poosam festival.
Representing the petitioner, senior counsel P. Valliappan contended that the Agama Sastras require the Mandalabhishekam to be conducted for 48 days immediately after the Kumbabhishekam (consecration) of the temple held on January 27 this year and that they could not be cut short for three days for any reason.
On the other hand, Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram told the court that the Mandalabhishekam rituals were performed only for three days during the last Kumbabhishekam of the temple held on April 3, 2006 too, because the 48-day ritual clashed with the Panguni Uthiram festival at that time.
However, when the judges suggested that the Mandalabhishekam and Thai Poosam festival could be held together this year, the A-G agreed that the rituals would be conducted for the entire period of 48 days as per the Agamas. The judges recorded his submission and disposed of the PIL petition with observations relating to the temple’s history.
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