A section of devotees of the ancient Sri Parthasarathy Swamy temple has decided to undertake a pradakshina around the temple, not for fulfilling personal vows, but to ask the Lord Himself to advise the temple administration to remove the black granite stones in the inner praharam and also a shed, which obstructs the view of vimanam of the over 1,200-year-old temple.
The devotees numbering about 200 met at Allathur Nathamuni Chathiram in Triplicane in the city on Sunday and decided to restore the 'lost heritage' of the Pallava period temple. Several local organisations including the Triplicane Brahmins’ Welfare Association and Srinivas Youngmen’s Association participated and registered their protest against the 'brazen' attempts to violate the tradition laid down in the past.
They unanimously demanded the temple administration to remove the newly built structure and restore the old position of laying black stone and open sky in front of Sri Varadharajar sannadhi.
The group of devotees and likeminded persons also decided to form the Sri Parthsarathy Swami Temple Protection Force to coerce the temple administration to restore the original structure of the temple. They have proposed to chant Vishnu Sahasranamam on August 25 in front of the temple and do a pradakshina around the temple appealing to Lord Parthasarathy Himself to “give good thinking and right advice.”
Besides, it has been also resolved to petition the Hindu religious and charitable endowment minister M.S.M. Anandan.
There is general resentment over the manner in which the construction has been rushed without offering any explanation to the public nor any reason why the temple administration did not treat the temple structure as heritage monument, especially at a time when old buildings attained heritage status.