Introduction
A Sengol or Chengol is a royal scepter that signifies kingship, righteousness, justice, and authority, among the other qualities associated with wielding power in a correct and fair manner. Its origin is in Tamil Nadu where it served as a kingly emblem. Sengol is derived from the Tamil word semmai, meaning righteousness. In May 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted from priests and installed it near the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair in the newly constructed building of the Indian Parliament.
According to an official document of the Government of India, the scepter is a "significant historical" symbol of Independence that signifies the transfer of power from the British to Indians. Amit Shah, the Home Minister of India further said, "Pandit Nehru accepted Sengol at around 10.45 pm of August 14, 1947, through the Adhinam of Tamil Nadu. It was a sign of the shift of power from Britishers to the people of our country." [1] As per the official document, the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, asked Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru about a ceremony that should be followed to symbolize the transfer of power consulted C. Rajagopalachari, the last Governor-General. He suggested to follow a tradition of the Chola dynasty, where the transfer of power from one king to the other was sanctified and blessed by high priests. It further says that "The symbol (for the transfer of power) used was the handover of the 'Sengol' from one king to his successor." The newly crowned ruler was ordained by giving him the Sengol to rule his subjects "fairly and justly." [2] According to historian, Anirudh Kanisetty, author of Lords of the Deccan: Southern India from the Chalukyas to the Cholas (2022), for arranging a scepter, "C. Rajagopalachari reached out to various mutts in Tamil Nadu and it was Thiruvaduthurai Atheenam (a well-known mutt in Tanjore district) that provided it." Further, as per the official document, the leader of the mutt commissioned the manufacturing of the Sengol to Chennai-based Vummidi Bangaru Chetty jewellery, and it was built by Vummidi Ethirajulu and Vummidi Sudhakar. The length of the scepter is five feet and has a Nandi, Lord Shiva's sacred bull, on the top, symbolizing justice. [3] However, Manu Pillai, the historian, has raised doubts regarding the ceremony. He says in an interview in the Indian Express: "But claims that it was a major event and that Lord Mountbatten handed it over in a ceremonial fashion to signify the transfer of power, seem exaggerated…..The very obscurity of this sengol and the absence of adequate contemporary evidence suggests it was not a key episode in 1947, but an incident on the margins. The Hindu leaders presented it to Nehru as a mark of honour, and he, in turn, received it in good spirit." [4] In contrast, the renowned authors, Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, in their book, Freedom at Midnight have described a ceremony that took place in Delhi on August 14, 1947, in the following words: "One of the two (priests) bore this evening of August 14 a massive silver platter, upon which was folded a strip of white silk streaked in gold, the Pitambaram, the cloth of God. The other carried a five-foot scepter, a flask of holy water from the Tanjore River, a pouch of sacred ash, and a pouch of boiled rice which had been offered at dawn at the feet of Nataraja, the Dancing God, in his temple in Madras." They further stated that the procession moved through the streets of the capital until it came to a stop in front of Nehru's house on 17 York Road (now Moti Lal Nehru Marg). "They (priests) sprinkled Jawahar Lal Nehru with holy water, smeared with sacred ash, laid their scepter on his arms and draped him in the Cloth of God", Collins and Lapierre wrote. Moreover, the rendering of the 11 verses of the Tamil religious script, known as Kolaru Padhigam, which was "composed by the 7th-century Tamil Saint Tirugnana Sambandar", ending with the prayer to Lord Shiva that the new power would rule forever also took place during the event, as per the official document. The ceremony was attended by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the would-be first President of India, among others. [5] According to the official sources in the Ministry of Culture, Time magazine also published a report in its issue dated August 25, 1947. In his book The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan, author Yasmin Khan also mentioned the ceremony. Author D.F. Karaka's book Betrayal of India also mentions it. The officials said Indian and foreign media reported on the Sengol ceremony before and after August 14, 1947. However, due to unruly situations arising out after the Partition, the ceremony was arranged in haste without issuing formal orders, it remained unrecorded. "As a result, the sacred Sengol and its vesting ceremony seem to have disappeared from the institutional memory of the Indian state." [6]
In the government docket, more evidence is contained. "One, a recollection of the 1947 ceremony by the highly revered Kanchi Mahaswami in August 1978, and second, Adheenam's souvenir, the date of which is not known but should be several decades old. Both are compelling pieces of evidence. The Adheenam record graphically describes the ceremony and its background. It fully corroborates the independent recollection of Kanchi Mahaswami. …..Adheenam's document in Tamil, which was translated into English and put in the government docket itself." [7] Thus, from the above narration, it is obvious that the ceremony related to Sengol took place though its official documentation could not be ensured at that time due to political exigencies. (August 14, 1947).
Historical Perspective of Sengol
"Sengol or Chengol became a symbol of the exchange of royal power during the five-century reign of the Cholas of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, who established a massive kingdom after defeating the Pallavas and Pandyas. The Rajguru, court priest, would use it as a symbol to notify the transfer of power from one Chola king to the next. A ritual was associated with it to inform the kings that they received the authority from a higher authority in the heavens." [8] Its origin, naturally, lies in Tamil Nadu. Among the Madurai Nayakas, for instance, the Sengol was placed before the goddess Meenakshi in the great temple on important occasions. It was then transferred to the throne room, representing the king's role as a divine agent. Therefore, it was also an instrument of legitimation. The Sethupatis of Ramnad after attaining kingly status in the seventeenth century, acquired a ritually sacrificed Sengol from priests of the Rameswaram temple. It marked the ruler's accountability to the deity in the exercise of power. It also showcased his graduation from chiefly status to a more honorific kingly place. [9]
The Sengol philosophy is rooted in the idea of "Aram", the Tamil equivalent of dharma. Saint Tiruvalluvar has devoted 10 of his 1,330 verses to extolling the virtues of the Sengol as symbolic of the higher principles that rule over the ruler himself/herself. [10]
The Sengol is a concept that is clearly explained in the chapter on Sengonmai, or the Right Sceptre, in Tirukkural. Translated by the missionary scholar G.U. Pope, it reads "All earth looks up to heaven whence raindrops fall; All subjects look to the king that ruleth all." Not lance gives kings the victory, but scepter swayed with equity, says another couplet. [11] The words spoken by Chera king Cheran Senguttuvan in Silapathikaram, the first Tamil epic with the common man and woman as hero and heroine, most aptly encapsulate the importance of Sengol or scepter. When he came to know about the death of Pandian Nedunchezhian, the king of Madurai, Chera king Senguttuvan says, "Pandiyan offered his life and restored the uprightness of Sengol bent by the fate of injustice." Pandiyan fell from his throne and died after realizing that he had committed an injustice by mistakenly ordering capital punishment on Kovalan, the hero and husband of Kannagi. He is said to utter before his death, "Am I a king? I am a thief." [12] In the Kanal Vari songs in Silapathikaram, Kovalan attributes the flowing of the Cauvery River in all its beauty to the uprightness of the Sengol of the Chola king. Sengol was one of the 10 constituents of a kingdom besides venkottra kudai (white umbrella), murasu(drum), Kodi (flag), thanai (army), aaru (river), malai (mountain), thar (garland), yaanai (elephant) and kuthirai (horse). Sengol finds reference in Tholkappiyam also, the earliest treatise on Tamil grammar, says R. Kalaikovan, founder of Rajamanickanar Institute of Historical Research, Tiruchirapalli. He further explains that Sengol symbolizes a just and fair governance by a king. It is in contrast to authoritarianism or Kodungol in Tamil. [13]
Conclusion
Sengol in Tamil tradition represents the idea of righteousness rather than an object. This tradition in the Tamil ruling class is deep-rooted. In old Tamil classics, Sengol finds mention. The installation of Sengol inside the new Parliament of India symbolizes the fact that at the root of good governance is the sengol or righteousness of the ruler. Just and fair administration is the bedrock of any political system. This is hoped that the installation of Sengol will further strengthen the edifice of our not-so-old democracy. The idea of Sengol must prevail despite all odds. This is, indeed, a good augury. Let the old Tamil tradition of Sengol be the symbol of a new independent and resurgent India.
Reference:
- Alind Chauhan & Divya, A, Chola Sengol tradition, seen with Nehru, now in new Parliament, 25.5.2023
- Ibid
- Ibid
- Manu S Pillai, Symbolism of the sengol, The Indian Express, 29.5.2023.
- Alind Chauhan & Divya A, Chola Sengol tradition, seen with Nehru, now in new Parliament, The Indian Express, 25.5.2023.
- Ibid
- Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Sceptre and its critics, The Indian Express, 2.6.2023.
- Ram Madhav, The Supreme Authority, The Indian Express, 29.5.2023.
- Manu S Pillai, Symbolism of the sengol, The Indian Express, 29.5.2023.
- Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Sceptre and its critics, The Indian Express, 2.6.2023.
- B. Kolappan, A Symbol of Virtue, The Hindu, 28.5.2023.
- Ibid.
- Ibid.