Thirupparankundram’s traditional temple-linked families have publicly welcomed the Madras High Court’s order permitting the Karthigai Deepam to be lit atop the hill and have offered to take up the responsibility themselves if the temple administration declines to act.
In a video statement, community leaders associated with the Arulmigu Subramania Swami Temple said it was the custom of their ancestors to light the lamp at the summit of the hill and that they were eager to see the practice revived in line with the court’s directive.
They stated that, although the custom had fallen into disuse due to changes in administration, local residents “welcome the re-lighting of the lamp there as per the current court order” and that people from Tirupparankundram and surrounding villages “want to light the lamp at the top of the hill.” If the temple administration was unwilling, they said they were “ready to do it ourselves.”
எங்கள் மூதாதையர் காலத்தில் மலை உச்சியில் மகாதீபமேற்றுவதே வழக்கம். அது வழக்கொழிந்து போனாலும், தற்போதைய நீதிமன்றத் தீர்ப்புப் படி அங்கேயே மீண்டும் தீபம் ஏற்றுவதை வரவேற்கிறோம். நாங்களும் சுற்றியுள்ள கிராமங்களும் மலை உச்சியில் தீபமேற்றுவதையே விரும்புகிறோம். கோவில் நிர்வாகம் அதைச்… pic.twitter.com/UXRLdF1MpJ
— 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀷𑁆 🇮🇳 (@tskrishnan) December 5, 2025
Hereditary Temple Communities Assert Role
The speakers identified themselves as representatives of long-standing temple service groups, including the Bhattars, village headmen, village accountants, the Bhairaavi community, the Mudaliyar, Sangama, Kollachari, Thachachari communities, the three Kammayi village heads, six kaaval watchmen and Madaiyan-thotti watchmen.
They said these sections had “all along been travelling as one body from this Kadaiyanpatti side” and that their participation was essential in every temple festival. The administration of the Subramania Swami temple, they noted, had been structured during the rule of the Nayak kings, and since then their forefathers had performed temple duties in a hereditary manner.
Even after the HR&CE Department took over, they said, several functions continued to be handled by these traditional families. They cited festivals such as the Chithirai One celebrations, the Karthigai Theppam small car festival, the Panguni fifth-day kaipparam and big car festivals, and the Purattasi hill-top Kumaran festival, all of which, they said, are conducted on behalf of the village of Tirupparankundram and in association with the temple.
“Locals Do Want Hill-Top Deepam”
On the hill-top Deepam specifically, the leaders said oral traditions handed down from their ancestors clearly indicated that the “great lamp was indeed lit at the summit of the hill” in earlier times, and that the practice was discontinued only in recent years due to administrative changes.
“In recent times, because of changes in administration, that practice was stopped and left hanging. Now, with the court having given an order, we welcome that judgment, and we, along with all the surrounding villages here, wish that the Deepam should be lit again on the top of the hill. That is what will give the greatest happiness to the general public,” they said.
They urged the Tamil Nadu government, through the HR&CE Department, to itself light the Deepam. “If, for any reason, the HR&CE Department says it is not able to do so, then we, who have all along been conducting the Thiruppurandaram hill-top Kumaran festival, are ready to take up that responsibility. We are ready to go and light the Deepam ourselves,” they added.
The community leaders’ intervention directly counters claims circulating in parts of the public discourse that local residents are not interested in lighting the lamp atop the hill. They stressed that they not only support the judgment but are prepared to implement it.
Kutti Family’s Legacy of Temple Protection
Those seen in the clip are from families that have been linked to the Thirupparankundram temple for several centuries, including descendants of a man remembered locally as Kutti, who is said to have sacrificed his life to protect the shrine during an attempted occupation in the early 18th century.
Those who appear in the video belong to families that have been associated with the temple for several centuries. The person speaking in the clip is from the lineage of Kutti, who leapt from the temple gopuram and sacrificed his life to protect it during a foreign invasion… https://t.co/3mcm05jCyN
— 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀷𑁆 🇮🇳 (@tskrishnan) December 6, 2025
According to the account shared, the incident took place at a time of intense rivalry between the British, local poligars and the Arcot Nawab. British troops reportedly marched towards the temple with plans to convert it into a fortress. Temple administrators are said to have believed that the troops were deeply superstitious and reluctant to enter any place where an “abnormal” or unnatural death had occurred.
A temple Bhairaavi (bodyguard) named Kutti is described as having climbed the gopuram and leapt to his death at the entrance, forcing the British troops to retreat upon seeing the body. Local tradition holds that this act saved the temple from desecration and damage.
Even today, members of Kutti’s family are said to receive traditional honours during temple festivals, and community accounts present this story as an example of the sacrifices made by individuals to protect temple heritage in Tamil Nadu.
There is a common thought that temples in Tamilagam didn’t face much of onslaught from invasions. That’s not true. It was because of the supreme sacrifice of some noble men, that the temples are standing as they are today. Let’s see how the Tirupparankundram temple was saved by… pic.twitter.com/jJcCVvQKhi
— 𑀓𑀺𑀭𑀼𑀱𑁆𑀡𑀷𑁆 🇮🇳 (@tskrishnan) January 30, 2025
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