A petition submitted to Madurai district collector by Muthukumar, a Madurai-based lawyer, seeking permission to offer piglets at the Kashi Vishwanathar Temple on Thiruparankundram Hill has sparked controversy. The request comes against the backdrop of protests by Islamist groups, under the banner of banned terror outfit PFI’s affiliate SDPI, attempting to hold a sacrificial ritual involving the slaughter of goats and roosters at a Dargah, located on the sacred Hindu site of Thiruparankundram Hill.
In his petition to the Madurai District Collector, Muthukumar has requested approval for the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to regularly hold a ritual at the Kashi Vishwanathar Temple. The ritual would involve a leela in which Lord Shiva is depicted feeding piglets with milk, with devotees passing through Nellithope to offer piglets as a form of devotion to the temple.
In his petition, Muthukumar stated, the Kashi Vishwanathar Temple is located on Nellithope Road on the Thiruparankundram Murugan Temple Hill. According to the Puranas, twelve Vellalars, who lived here and violated the principles of Shaivism, were cursed by Guru Bhagavan for killing and torturing animals for pleasure. As a result, they were reborn as twelve piglets, orphaned and suffering from hunger on the hills.
The Puranas further mention that to lift the curse, Lord Shiva assumed the form of a mother pig and fed the twelve piglets. However, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, along with the police, has consistently denied permission to offer these piglets—representing the incarnations of the Supreme Lord—as offerings at the Kashi Vishwanathar Temple. Muthukumar has requested that the Department grant permission to hold the ritual annually on the first new moon day of the month of Thai, allowing Lord Shiva to feed the piglets, and permitting devotees to offer piglets as part of their worship.
In the midst of these events, a protest by Muslims at the Sikandar Auliya Dargah mosque on Thiruparankundram Hill in Madurai has led to a ban and the filing of a case against those involved in the protest.
Amid this context, the lawyer’s petition to the District Collector requests the regular ritual of Lord Shiva feeding piglets at the Kashi Vishwanathar Temple, along with permission for devotees to offer piglets as part of their devotion has sparked controversy.
(With inputs from News7 Tamil)
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