The dispute between the Vadakalai and Tenkalai sects of Vaishnavites over reciting their respective hymns at the Devarajaswamy Temple in Kancheepuram district has once again reached the Madras High Court by way of writ petitions and writ appeals.
A special Division Bench of Justices R. Mahadevan and P.D. Audikesavalu heard preliminary arguments advanced by a battery of lawyers over the issue and decided to allocate specific dates and time to argue the matter at length after the Christmas vacation.
The judges directed the High Court Registry to list the matters during the afternoon sessions on January 19, 22 and 23 and asked the advocates to come prepared with all their submissions as well as details regarding the hymns that were the bone of contention.
The writ appeals had been preferred against an order passed by Justice S.M. Subramaniam on May 17, 2022 permitting both sects to recite their respective hymns at the temple. Then, the judge had observed that tolerance was the hallmark of Hinduism and therefore there must be mutual respect.
He had also ordered that, during the recitation, the Tenkalai sect should be permitted to sit in the first two or three rows since they had accrued such a right through a series of litigations since 1844 and the Vadakalai sect should be seated behind them followed by the other devotees.
He made it clear that the Tenkalai sect should be permitted to commence their initial recital of Srisaila Dayapathram and thereafter, the Vadakalai sect should be permitted to recite Sri Ramanuja Dayapathram. Afterwards, both the sects and the other devotees should jointly chant the Naalayira Divya Prabandham.
The order was, however, subsequently placed in abeyance by a Division Bench of the Court. The current appeals that will be heard in January have been filed by two individuals, on behalf of the Tenkalai sect.
