Mani Ratnam’s epic period drama Ponniyin Selvan 1 or PS1 that showcases the mighty Chola dynasty has revived a debate on whether king Raja Raja Chola was a Hindu or not.
National-award winning Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran’s remarks had sparked a controversy a week ago in Tamil Nadu which continues to rage.
Speaking to HT, S Jayakumar, a researcher on the cultural history of south India and an expert whom director Ratnam consulted for the magnum opus, says though the word “Hindu” is not found in the records of the Cholas, Raja Raja was a Saivite and a Hindu King.
“The idea of Hinduism as what we conceive today, existed several centuries ago,” says Jayakumar. Those who worshipped Lord Siva are known as Saivites, while worshippers of Lord Vishnu are known as Vaishnavites.
“Though Raja Raja was a staunch Saivite, he built not just Siva temples but he also built Vishnu temples,” he says. They worshipped Durga, Shakti and Kali as well as Murugan and Ganesha, he added.
“In fact, there is a beautiful inscription in Brihadishwara Temple where Ganesha was offered 150 bananas a day. All this collectively forms Hinduism,” Jayakumar says. “Though the word “Hindu” might not have been used by Cholas, they are very much Hindu. Raja Raja Chola was a Hindu King. There is no question about that. In Hinduism, he belonged to the Saivite sect.”
{{/usCountry}}“In fact, there is a beautiful inscription in Brihadishwara Temple where Ganesha was offered 150 bananas a day. All this collectively forms Hinduism,” Jayakumar says. “Though the word “Hindu” might not have been used by Cholas, they are very much Hindu. Raja Raja Chola was a Hindu King. There is no question about that. In Hinduism, he belonged to the Saivite sect.”
{{/usCountry}}“The copper plates and the stone inscriptions of Cholas and other dynasties who ruled Tamil Nadu call themselves to be the devotees of both Shiva and Vishnu,” Jayakumar said. “They patronised Jainism and Buddhism as well. But they largely identified as the devotees of Shiva and Vishnu and worshipped Shakti, Ganesha and Murukan as well. So, the word might not have been in vogue. But the ideas are very old. The foreign travellers in their chronicles, call the people of India as Hindus. Anyone beyond the river Sindhu are Hindus. The term Hinduism as a notion existed for the longest time.”
The controversy began when Ventrimaaran, during his speech on October 1, said that Hindutva forces were trying to appropriate native Tamil identities such as depicting saint Thiruvalluvar in saffron and Raja Raja Chola as Hindu. “It is important to treat art in the right form. We will lose our identities if we don’t,” Vetrimaran had said. His comments came a day after part 1 of Ponniyin Selvan (based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s novel of the same name) was released worldwide which is inching closer to the 350-crore mark at the box office.
Politicians such as S Seeman, Thol Thirumavalan and actor-politician Kamal Haasan agreed with Vetrimaaran’s view arguing that Hindu religion didn’t exist then. While another section of BJP and right-wing leaders questioned how he cannot be called a Hindu emperor when he built marvellous Hindu temples during his reign. “The Tamil Saivite hymns mention ‘Veda Neri’ meaning, Vedic Path in several places. This can easily be said as the right word for Hinduism in those days since the core of Hinduism is largely drawn from Vedic literature,” Jayakumar says.
Haasan, who has given a voice over in Ponniyin Selvan, supported Vetrimaaran. “There was no Hindu religion during the Chola ruler’s time. There was Vainavan, Saivam and Samanam,” Haasan said on Wednesday speaking at a press meet related to the film. It (Hinduism) was the name given by the British. It is like renaming Thoothukudi as Tuticorin.”
Seeman said: “The entire world knows that Raja Raja Chola belongs to the Shaivite tradition and worshipped Lord Shiva.”
Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief and present Governor of Telangana and Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundararajan said Saivam and Vainavam are identities of Hindu religions. “Hindu is a cultural identity and you cannot interpret it the way you want. Tamils are religious by nature,” said Soundararajan.
Jayakumar says the Cholas claimed to be the descendents of the Lord Ram who belonged to the Sun clan. “In that sense, each dynasty has claimed that they have a divine origin. Pandyas say they are descendants of the Moon clan, Pallavas say the first Pallava was Lord Vishnu himself,” Jayakumar.
Padma Shri winning author and playwright, Indira Parthasarathy, 92, took to Twitter to share his opinion. “To call Raja Raja as a Saiva ruler is as absurd as calling him a Hindu ruler,” Parthasarathy said. “All kings build monuments, mosques and temples only to show off their own pride!”
He also added that MP D Ravikumar raises a valid question quoting historian Suresh Pillai about whether the Brihadishvara Temple or popularly called the big temple was built by demolishing a Buddhist shrine.