To Say That Chola King Rajaraja Is Not A Hindu Is Like Saying A Catholic Is Not A Christian: Dr Karan Singh

Lambasting the attempts to create fault lines between Shaivism, Vaishanavism and Shaktism, veteran Congress leader Dr Karan Singh on Friday said it was “absolutely ridiculous” to say that the King Rajaraja I of the Chola dynasty was not a Hindu.

“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 on Friday.

“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 Thanjavur.

Dr Singh 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 Dharma 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 added.

Dr Singh was responding to a recent controversy that erupted after Tamil filmmaker Vetrimaaran claimed in a function that there were attempts to give a Hindu identity to Rajaraja Chola.

An accomplished scholar, Karan Singh has served as the chancellor of Banaras Hindu University for three terms up until 2018