Chennai: Spiritual organisations and historians have alleged that the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department’s “Agama temple survey” is being carried out in a manner that could distort the Agamic identity of many ancient temples in Tamil Nadu.
According to the Agama classification list published on the department’s official website, out of 34,971 temples surveyed, 27,510—about 79%—have been marked as “not following Agama.” Critics argue that, as per a High Court ruling, such classification should be based on a temple’s structural and traditional foundations, not merely on its present mode of worship.
Vijay Narayanan, director of the “Aalayam Kaappom” organisation, said decisions related to Agamic practice should be taken by temple trustees. However, he alleged that in temples where trustees have not been appointed, executive officers have additionally acted as fit persons and signed the reports on their own.
He cited the Madhyapuriswarar temple at Parakkalakkottai in Thanjavur district, which has reportedly been classified as non-Agamic and as less than 100 years old. He contended that the temple is a 16th-century historical site and that its priests have certified that consecration was conducted as per Agamic procedures.
The organisation further alleged that several Chola- and Pandya-era temples in the Thanjavur and Thiruvarur regions have been wrongly tagged as “under 100 years” and “non-Agamic.” Calling the process contrary to the High Court’s intent, it demanded that the department withdraw the report and conduct a fresh survey with historians, Agama experts and priests to correct the discrepancies.
