Priest suspended for permitting wedding inside Chidambaram temple


Chidambaram: Wedding of the kin of an industrialist from Sivakasi, which was held at the Chidambaram Natarajar temple, has sparked a row.

Following this, Pattu Dikshithar who is said to have given the permission for the marriage to take place, has been suspended from work, sources said.

During last week, the devotees at the temple were taken aback when they saw a marriage being held inside the famous 1,000-pillar mandapam of the temple, known as Rajasabai the place where only festivals like Arudra Darshan and Aani Thirumanjanam used to take place.

The entire mandapam was decorated like a marriage hall and this sparked a row as many believe that the sanctity of the place has been violated with the marriage celebrations.

After the incident, the Podhu Dikshitars of the temple arranged for a general body meeting which was headed by Chandrasekhar Dikshithar. Many other Dikshitars from various temples attended the meeting and a suspension was handed out to Pattu Dikshithar, who was responsible for arranging the wedding in the Rajasabai.