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Aggressive takeover divinity 211/26/2022 ![]() "This is the main temple that historically promoted the Tamil language and also the singing of devarams. Kadhiresan, a lecturer of English at nearby Annamalai University and a member of the Organization for the Protection of Hindu Temples. The case was taken to the government and then to the local courts, causing a commotion of proportions unseen in Chidambaram's recent history. Stripped of most details, the news reached the Indian media portraying the dikshitars as arrogant Sanskritists, contemptuous of the Tamil language and callous toward the people's needs. The story brought extensive negative publicity to the priests. In 2008, the oduvar Arumugaswami-a singer of sacred Tamil songs called devarams-accused the dikshitars of not allowing him to sing to Lord Nataraja. The dikshitar's latest woes were brought about by one incident, a catalyst of things long in the making. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, Rajiv Malik was even advised against wandering alone in the evenings. They all longed to be given a voice, offering well-informed opinions, stories, legends and mystical insights. His small hotel room became a press center, with an incessant flux of priests, devotees and leaders of local communities lining up to be interviewed. News of his arrival-as the representative of an international publication-spread like wildfire in the town of 60,000 people whose life is deeply tied to the temple. To shed light on the controversy, Hinduism Today correspondent Rajiv Malik traveled to Chidambaram in March 2009, where intense days awaited. The latest and most severe blow was a hostile takeover by the Tamil Nadu government on February 2, 2009, which has sparked outrage, public protests and a cloud of uncertainty, all meeting nothing more than an odd silence from the Indian media. The decline of the dikshitars started centuries ago but has intensified in the last fifty years. Though the massive stones of Lord Siva's temple still hold firmly in place, the walled chambers now witness a depopulated and impoverished priesthood, struggling to perform their work and, in some cases, even to survive. These days, the dikshitars, reduced to little more than 300, find themselves as characters in a very different story. In those days, a vibrant host of 3,000 priests served at Chidambaram. Earning birth into such hereditary priesthood is regarded as a glorious fulfillment of many lives of bhakti and purification, and so it was centuries ago when the maharajas ruled strong, their empires centered around temples rather than palaces. There are a few men born with this opportunity, the dikshitar priests whose lives revolve entirely around His service in His foremost citadel. It beckons to let go of all else, to devote life to Him alone. In the heart of many a devout Saivite, there is a dream that arises when one sees Lord Nataraja at the most holy Chidambaram temple.
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