Pushkaram fest at Mayiladuthurai gets a Royal touch with visit of Greece devotee

Being the 144th year, it is considered to be a Maha Pushkaram. This year, the prayers held by Kanchi Jeer Sri Sankarachariyar at the Thula kattam situated in Mayiladuthurai saw a ‘royal’ devotee, who has an interesting and unusual link to south India. 

Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark, descendent of one of Europe’s most aristocratic royal families, was seen along with the priests worshipping Goddess Cauvery.

The Princess, who is now 76, is the youngest child of King Paul of Greece and his wife Queen Frederica of Hanover (the Queen Mother), who is also the maternal aunt of King Felipe VI, King of Spain.

According to reports, the Queen Mother and the Princess met Advaita scholar Dr TMP Mahadevan during an international conference on world religions in June 1966 in Athens, and expressed a wish to meet His Holiness Sri Sankaracharya of Kanchi (Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamigal) on their next visit to India. They came to India in November-December 1966, and met His Holiness on December 4-5, 1966. 

In an earlier visit to India, Princess Irene was quoted as having said, “The Vedas and Indian philosophy alone could show path of peace to the world. The Vedas were a rich source of knowledge. The Vedas belong to everyone. The Vedic life was above caste, region, religion and country. World peace can be achieved by following Vedic life, she said, adding one can see God in every human being if he or she sheds ego.” She had addressed a gathering on the subject in Vijayawada in 2015. 

Since then, the royals continue to attend the programmes being organised by the Kanchi Mutt. 

On Tuesday, clad in deep red saree, Princess Irene was seen performing the rituals at the Maha Pushkaram with utmost devotion. According to Modi Kannan, BJP secretary of Mayiladuthurai, the royal Kingdom is closely associated with the Kanchi mutt and is said to be one of the donors. “The Princess reached the Mutt on Monday and returned along with the Mutt officials after the puja and will be staying there for a while,” Modi Kannan said.