India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament House building on May 28, 2023. Along with customary vedic rituals and chanting of hymns, the new Parliament House was inaugurated and given to the nation. However, the twist in the tale was the retrieval of the Holy Sengol from Nehru’s personal museum at Anand Bhawan in Prayagraj and instating the same near the Lok Sabha Speaker’s chair in the New Parliament House. Sengol is the sceptre held by the sovereign, indicating his divine authority to rule.
The Holy Sengol held a great significance during the Chola era. It was used in the coronation ceremonies of Chola kings as a symbolic transfer of power from the king to his successor. Handing over of Sengol had a huge significance because it imposed the duties on the king to rule as per Dharma and the element of the rule of law.
The word Sengol is a combination of the two Tamil words “semmai” which means “righteousness” or “prosperity” and “kol” which means “rule of the king”. “Kon” means king and “kol” means his rule. Hence the word “Sengol” means “righteous rule” or “the rule of dharma”. In Tamil, it is also called “Sengol Atchi” which means “Rule of Sengol” or the “Rule of Law and Justice”.
King’s duties are determined based on Tamil concept of “Aram” (which means Dharma), “Porul” (which means wealth), and “Inbam” (which means happiness, pleasure, enjoyment). This is exactly what we call as “Artha”, “Dharma”, “Kama”, and finally we achieve “Moksha”. This highlights the common philosophical foundations of Sanatan Dharma, described in different languages in different parts of Bharat. With a discussion of Sengol and its dharmic origins, the first argument of the Aryan – Dravidian divide is getting demolished.
In addition, PM Modi invited seers from 22 Aadheenams for the ceremony. Tamil Nadu has around 48 Aadheenams. Aadheenams can be called Muths in simple Hindi. These Aadheenams have a huge influence on large chunk of the populace in Tamil Nadu.
It is also pertinent to note that a significant majority of these Aadheenams are non-brahminical orders. It is managed by non-Brahmin caste groups, especially Thevars, Pillais, Mudaliars, Gounders, etc. At the same time, it is important to note that Aadheenams are not caste-centric orders but local community-centric orders. The temples and other properties they own are the epicenter of the local community.
Aadheenams are involved in community service beginning from feeding tens of thousands of people for free for more than a century. Main muths are known to have been providing free meals to more than 50,000 people for more than a century. Aadheenams also provide wedding venue and infrastructure for people in the local communities and enable in making weddings a village celebration.
Many Aadheenams are instrumental in helping low-income families educate their children by giving them scholarships. This scholarship support has benefited thousands of poor students from Aadheenams. Aadheenams also help in bringing local communities together through their annual temple festivals. This is how Aadheenams have a huge influence over the local communities.
The role of Aadheenams in the preservation of Sanskrit palm leaf transcripts from the Vedic period is significant. Aadheenams have also contributed in Tamil translation of these preserved transcripts. Aadheenams serve as custodians of Shaiva culture by teaching and training the monks and lay disciples about agamas, dharma shastras, sacred hymns sung by the Shaiva Nayanars or teachers which are called tirumurais, etc. They have also contributed in preserving the Sangam era Tamil language and literature. This is how Aadheenams wield a temporal authority in the local communities.
This is how Aadheenams play a significant role in religious, social, and cultural space in Tamil Nadu. This in turn has a huge impact on the politics of the state. In addition to this, the influence of Aadheenams on several dominant communities again had a huge impact on the social and political landscape across Tamil Nadu. It is understood that Gounders head the Adheenams in Perur and Siroor regions in western Tamil Nadu. Gounders are numerically strong and dominant force in these regions. In the Chettnadu region, the Chettiar heads the Kundrakudi Adheenam.
The manner in which PM Modi accorded respect and reverence to the seers from these 22 Aadheenams and the way the ceremony was performed is a path-breaking step in demolishing the artificially created divide between North and South (Dravida Nadu). Tamil Hymns were chanted along with seers doing all required religious rituals, shall go a long way in asserting the common cultural and religious foundations of Indians irrespective of their linguistic and regional ethnicity and identity.
This could influence the followers of these Aadheenams and can turn them away from the artificial divide created between the North and the South. As majority of the Aadheenams are headed by non-Brahmins, bringing a Brahminical angle to push the caste divide is also not possible.
It appears that PM Modi and his strategists have done a lot of research and put in efforts to identify ways and a means to end the Aryan – Dravidian divide and break the walls created between the North and the South using various political identities and ideologies. Sengol of India can well turn out to be a baton that breaks the walls dividing India and an alpenstock that helps people move closer, thereby catalysing a cultural, civilisational, and political unification of Bharat and Bharatiyas.
