Chithirai festival is not merely a temple event, but a civilisational continuum: Madurai Bench

Taking a serious view of miscreants throwing footwear on devotees during Lord Kallazhagar’s ceremonial journey culminating in the deity’s entry in the Vaigai as part of the Chithirai festival, Justice L. Victoria  Gowri of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has issued a set of directions for the authorities to prevent such incidents.

She was hearing a petition filed by P. Sundaravadivel of Madurai, who had sought a direction to the authorities to take preventive measures. Justice Gowri said throwing footwear at devotees in the midst of a divine procession was not only an act of disorder but was also an affront to faith, an assault upon customary religious practice, and a desecration of the secular fraternity that formed part of the constitutional ethos. “The Chithirai festival is not merely a temple event. It is a civilisational  continuum, a living embodiment of Tamil heritage, rooted in the Sangam culture, and nourished through centuries. The festival, in its present form, represents the confluence of Meenakshi Amman Temple traditions and Kallazhagar Temple traditions, symbolically uniting  Shaivite and Vaishnavite streams in a singular expression of devotional harmony,” she said.