CHENNAI: Kanchi Sankara Mutt junior pontiff Vijayendra Saraswathi has triggered a row by remaining seated when the Tamil anthem was played at an event, with political parties terming it as an act of 'disrespect' to the language.
The invocation song to mother Tamil, known as 'Tamil Thai Vaazhthu', was played at a function, presided over by Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit yesterday, to release a Tamil-Sanskrit dictionary.
The junior pontiff sat in his chair on the dias with his eyes closed and stood up when the national anthem was played, which led to a controversy.
Political parties, including DMK, alleged that it was an act of disrespect to the Tamil language which was, however, denied by the mutt.
DMK Working President M K Stalin said "I consider this an affront to mother Tamil, especially when it happened in the presence of the Governor. Vijayendra Swami not standing up when the anthem was played is condemnable."
Hailing the anthem as the national song of Tamils, PMK chief S Ramadoss said standing up when it was sung was both a tradition and an expression of respect and none could be exempted from it.
Asked about the charge that the Tamil anthem was disrespected, a senior Kanchi Mutt official, requesting anonymity, said the invocation song was equivalent to 'Kadavul Vaazthu,' an invocation to the Almighty itself.
"In reverence, Sri Vijayendrar prayed and meditated when the anthem was sung," he told PTI.
The National anthem was not a prayer to God, he said.
The official pointed out that the junior pontiff also spoke very highly of Tamil and its antiquity at the function.
Stating that the mutt has for long been doing work for the cause of Tamil, including setting up a 'patashala' where ancient Tamil Shaivite hymns 'Tevaram' were being taught, he said "nobody should doubt the mutt's respect and love for our language Tamil."
Asked about the Mutt's stand that the junior pontiff prayed and meditated at that time, Stalin told reporters that "doing meditation is his wish..why he did not meditate when the national anthem was played?. A wrong thing has happened and to hide that, they are coming up with such tricky claims."
Ramadoss said "this is an argument for the sake of it, this cannot be accepted... he should express regret and learn to respect the invocation song to mother Tamil."
At the event, BJP National Secretary H Raja,eminent Tamil orator Solomon Pappaiah, National organising secretary of 'Samskrita Bharathi,' Dinesh Kamat and former principal of Vivekananda College, R Vanniarajan participated.
The dictionary with more than 45,000 words is a work by late Prof S Hariharan, the father of Raja.