MAYILADUTHURAI: On his 63rd birthday, the Thiruvavaduthurai adheenam seer unveiled a plaque bearing an inscription outside his ‘odukkam’ (seer chamber) marking the events of the presentation of the sengol on the eve of India’s independence and the inauguration of the new Parliament in New Delhi.
With debate still raging on whether former governor general C Rajagopalachari reached out to the adheenam to make the golden sceptre to be presented to then prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the adheenam has stuck to its claim.
The Thiruvavaduthurai Adheenam Seer the 24th Gurumaha Sannidhanam Sri La Sri Ambalavana Desika Paramachariya Swamigal celebrated his 63th birthday on Sunday. The day was celebrated as ‘Jenma Natchathira Vizha’.
In the inscription, the adheenam has iterated that the sengol was made as per the advice of Rajagopalachari and presented to Nehru on the occasion of independence. It also states that the sengol was kept unrevealed for 75 years until it was taken out and the current seer presented it to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Although the inscription does not claim that the sengol was used to signify a “transfer of power” which is also under debate, another plaque outside the mutt, which was unveiled on August 15, 2022 to mark 75 years of Indian independence, bears an inscription stating that.
The adheenam has remained firm on its stance that the sengol was given to Lord Mountbatten first, then was received, purified and handed over to Jawaharlal Nehru. They recently disclosed this in a press statement, but said they did not have photographic evidence to prove their claims.
The seer led prayers and rituals in the mutt, and inaugurated a health camp in which doctors from Vinayaga Mission Medical College Hospital in Karaikal participated. The seer also distributed aid to sages and devotees who visited the mutt.