Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 7: Expressing shock over the claims that great emperor Rajaraj Chola was not a Hindu king, former Sadar-e-Riyasat Dr Karan Singh has lambasted the attempts to create a division between Shaivism, Vaishanavism and Shaktism.
“To say that he ( Rajaraj Chola) was a Shaivite not a Hindu, is like saying someone is a Catholic but not a Christian,” said Dr Karan Singh in a statement, issued here today.
Maintaining that these semantic gymnastics in a way denigrate and confuse our great religion, Dr Karan Singh said that describing Rajaraj Chola as not a Hindu king was absolutely ridiculous.
“Shiva is the primordial Hindu deity, focus of intense devotion for millions over the millennia from Srinagar down to Rameshwaram,” he said and reminded that the emperor built one of the greatest Shiva temples which are marvels of architecture, specially the great Brihadishwara Temple in Tanjavur.
Dr Singh, who is a great researcher of Indian scriptures, said that the word Hindu may have gained traction later, but Shiva and Vishnu, Hanuman and Ganesha, Mahalakshmi and Mahakali have all been part of what we call Sanatan Dharama for millennia. “Let us not again try and create a division between Shaivism, Vaishanavism and Shaktism, the three main streams of the great Hindu religion which has a billion followers around the world,” he said.
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