High Court solicits ideas for seamless darshan of Thillai Natarajar from Kanagasabai of Sabanayagar Temple

An inside view of the Sri Thillai Natarajar Temple at Chidambaram in Cuddalore district. File
| Photo Credit: M. Samraj

The Madras High Court on Thursday (February 20, 2025) directed the Podhu Dikshidars of the Sabanayagar Temple, also known as Thillai Natarajar Temple, in Chidambaram as well as the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to come up with ideas for permitting as many devotees as possible to have a darshan of Lord Shiva from the Kanagasabai during non ‘kala puja’ hours.

A special Division Bench of Justices R. Suresh Kumar and S. Sounthar wanted the ideas to be placed before the Bench by March 6. The direction was issued after the counsel for the Podhu Dikshidars committee told the court that his clients, who were the administrators of the temple, were not completely averse to permitting the devotees to have a darshan of Lord Shiva from the Kanagasabai.

He, however, said such darshan could be permitted only during non ‘kala puja’ hours. Elaborating his submissions, the counsel said the temple remains open for darshan from 6 a.m. to 12 noon and from 4.45 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day. Stating that nearly eight hours would be spent on the performance of ‘kala puja’ and ‘paal neivaidyam’, he said, the darshan from Kanagasabai could be permitted during the rest of the three hours.

The Bench was also told that about 5,000 to 10,000 devotees visit the temple on a daily basis and it would be impossible to let them enter and exit the kanagasabai with the existing facilities. Therefore, the committee would consult engineers with respect to the possibility of laying a ramp for smooth ingress and egress and submit a detailed sketch by the next hearing, he said.

On the other hand, Special Government Pleader (HR&CE) N.R.R. Arun Natarajan relied upon an 1858 publication titled Thillai Sthalapuranam and contended that devotees had been permitted to enter the Kanagasabai since time immemorial. He said the practice was stopped during COVID-19 when congregation in all temples was banned. Thereafter, the Podhu Dikshidars did not revive the practice even after the ban was lifted.

Stating that the HR&CE Department was constrained to issue a Government Order (G.O.) permitting the devotees to enter the Kanagasabai on receipt of multiple complaints against the administration, he said, the Podhu Dikshidars had approached the court challenging the G.O. but changed their stance by agreeing to permit darshan from the Kanagasabai for just three hours a day, after sensing the mood of the court.

He also said there were two pathways — one on the eastern side and another on the western side — to the Kanagasabai and therefore, the devotees could easily be allowed to enter through the eastern side and exit through the western one. The SGP obtained the permission of the Division Bench to submit a detailed report on March 6 explaining the modalities that could be followed for seamless darshan.