Ilaiyaraaja temple controversy: Srivilliputhur Temple authorities issue clarification

The temple administrator, in a statement on Monday said that only priests are allowed entry to the Ardha Mandapa of the temple. The authorities also said that Ilaiyaraaja had mistakenly entered the "Ardha Mandapa" of the temple and voluntarily left from there after being sounded about it

Chennai: Officials of the Srivilliputhur temple in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu clarified that music maestro Ilaiyaraaja was denied entry to the “Ardha Mandapa” of the temple as it was considered sacred like the sanctum sanctorum.

The temple administrator, in a statement on Monday said that only priests are allowed entry to the Ardha Mandapa of the temple. The authorities also said that Ilaiyaraaja had mistakenly entered the “Ardha Mandapa” of the temple and voluntarily left from there after being sounded about it.

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The temple officials denied that the music legend was subjected to any discrimination. It may be recalled that Ilaiyaraaja, who visited the Srivilliputhur Aandal temple in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district on Sunday evening, was asked to step out of the temple’s sacred chamber by the temple authorities.

The legendary music composer was accompanied by Sadagopa Ramanuja Iyer and Sadagopa Ramanuja Jeeyar of the Sri Andal Jeeyar Mutt in Srivilliputtur. The award-winning music composer was at the temple to release his composition ‘Divya Pasuram’.

Ilaiyaraaja along with Sadagopa Ramanuja Iyer and Sadagopa Ramanuja Jeeyar of the Sri Andal Jeeyar Mutt proceeded into the garbhagriha or the temple’s sacred chamber where the deity is kept, when he was stopped and asked to step out.

It is to be noted that Srivilliputhur Aandal temple is one of the 108 ‘divya desams’ or holy places dedicated to Lord Vishnu in Tamil Nadu. The temple’s history is connected with the legend of the Tamil poet-saint Aandal, who lived in the 7th century.

The legendary composer, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, has contributed significantly to Tamil cinema for nearly five decades. Ilaiyaraaja, who debuted as a music composer with the film ‘Annakili,’ has captivated Tamil cinema audiences with his music.

He is a musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil. He has also composed music in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannad and Hindi movies other than Tamil.

In a career spanning over 48 years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films, apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts. Even at 80, he remains a busy composer. His latest project, ‘Viduthalai Part 2,’ is set to release on December 20.

His presence at the event was meant to honour Andal’s legacy. After this incident, there was severe criticism on social media stating that Ilaiyaraajaâ’s removal was discriminatory, highlighting social hierarchy issues within religious spaces.