Sengol will be installed in the new Parliament House
Recently, Sengol, the holy symbol of just and fair state rule (scepter) will be accepted and installed in the new Parliament House. This Sengol will be installed next to the Speaker’s bench.
Sengol
- The word Sengol is derived from the Tamil word “Semmai”, which means righteousness or piety.
- As the observer of ‘justice’ watching with his unflinching gaze, the hand-engraved Nandi sits atop its sengol.
- The Presidents of all the 20 Adhinams of Tamil Nadu are also coming on this auspicious occasion to give their blessings in the revival of this sacred ritual for the establishment of the new Sengol.
- The holy ceremony will also be attended by 96-year-old Sri Wummidi Bangaru Chetty ji, who has been associated with its construction.
- Significantly, this is the same Sengol which was accepted by the first Prime Minister of India, Shri Jawaharlal Nehru at his residence on the night of 14th August, 1947 in the presence of several leaders.
- It was a special occasion on the night of August 14, 1947, when Jawaharlal Nehru received the sengol from specially arrived adhinams (priests) from the Thiruvaduthurai Adhinam (monastery) in Tamil Nadu. Sengol’s involvement with Pandit Nehru was precisely the moment when power was transferred by the British into the hands of Indians.
Inspired by Chola Rule
- Just before independence, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, asked Nehru “about the ceremony that should be celebrated to mark the transfer of power from British to Indian hands”.
- Pandit Nehru went to consult C Rajagopalachari, the last Governor-General of India, who told him about a ceremony performed during the Chola dynasty, in which the transfer of power from one king to another was done under the Maha-Yojana.
- As a symbol of transfer of power, ‘sengol’ was handed over from a king to his successor so that he would rule his subjects in a fair and just manner.
Source – The Hindu
