CHENNAI: Junior pontiff of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, Sri Vijayendra Saraswathi, has landed in a controversy after he chose to stay seated when the Thamizhthai invocation was rendered during a function held to release a Tamil-Sanskrit dictionary on Tuesday.
Political leaders and organisations charged that he had insulted ‘Mother Tamil’ and demanded an unconditional apology. They claimed that he stood up when the National Anthem was recited but did not pay the same respect to the Thamizhthai invocation.
On behalf of the junior pontiff, the Peetham clarified that he had no intention to insult the Tamil language. A person in charge of affairs of the Peetham, said, “The Thamizhthai invocation is akin to invocation of God. At that time, the pontiff was in meditation. While reciting Swasti Vachakam in the Mutt where the names of all gods are mentioned, the pontiffs as a matter of practice sit in meditation. He followed the same practice on Tuesday too.”