Amongst Tamil Shaivas, we hear how Nandanar Nayamnar is not allowed to enter the Chidambaram temple until he walks through fire which will purify him. His purified status shows him with Brahmin thread and smeared with ash, indicating shift in caste status, suggesting that the only way to gain access to the temple demands purification. This impurity is not moral or ethical; it is simply ritual. Nandanar’s story comes from the Periya Puranam written in the 12th century. Another story informs us that Nandanar was not allowed to cross the temple perimeter and had to see the deity only from outside. The stone Nandi blocked the line of sight. So, Shiva had the stone Nandi moved so everyone outside could get a clear view of the innermost sanctum. 

At the famous Tirupati Balaji temple in Seemandhra, as one walks the many steps to the temple, one finds the concrete image of Mala Dassari on the ground prostrating towards Tirupati. He was a leather worker who would make footwear for the travellers, and guard pilgrim footwear while they visited the temple, but he himself could not enter the temple.

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In Maharashtra in Pandharpur temple, we hear of Chokhamela, who was not allowed to enter the temple. He is buried outside the temple and they say that his bones still rattle as he chants the name of Vithal hoping to get a glimpse of the deity.

In Udupi Karnataka, we hear of Kanakadasa, the shepherd was not allowed into the temple. He would sit behind the temple and sing praises to the presiding deity, Krishna. Eager to see his devotee, the icon of Krishna turned around and a crack appeared in the temple wall. Thus the deity enabled what the priests had forbidden.

In Odisha, even today when one enters the main Jagannatha temple at the entrance, one finds a replica of the deity and it is called the Patitapaban shrine, the shrine for the outcaste who are not allowed to enter the temple. Its presence is a reminder of India’s social realities. 

The author writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. Reach him at devdutt.pattanaik@mid-day.com