A dispute has broken out at a Shiva temple in Tenkasi, with devotees alleging that officials from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department attempted to stop them from reading Thiruvasagam (holy Tamil Saivite hymns) within the temple premises, leading to a heated confrontation.
The incident, which was captured in a video that has since circulated online, centers on a group of devotees who were reciting the Thiruvasagam, a classic Tamil devotional text, inside the temple. The devotees claim that despite having prior permission for their activities, they were asked to leave and continue their recitation outside.
The video reveals a tense exchange. One devotee can be heard asking the devotees, “You have taken permission for all this and are reading? You have already submitted a letter saying that you are going to read it, right?” And the devotees affirm this. This indicates that the group had obtained formal authorization, which they believe was being unjustly revoked.
It is alleged that the EO had spoken derogatorily to the devotees, especially the guru of the group. Another devotee alleged that the EO nearly came to assault him with an umbrella and spoke disrespectfully. The devotees said, “We consider him as our god, he is our guru.”
Another devotee alleged that the temple authorities questioned who allowed them in and that they would file a police complaint if they didn’t leave.
The devotees seemed very furious and agitated by the behaviour of the temple authorities – it is alleged that the temple is administered by the HR&CE department of the Tamil Nadu government.
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