Thanjavur Palace Babaji Rajah Bhonsle

The Torch Bearer of Devotees’ Faith in close to 100 Temples has revived the Thanjavur Palace to its historical glory

'Our foremost role is to take care of the people and serve them'- Babaji Bhonsle

1984 and 85 were two tragic years for the Thanjavur Palace. The current Prince S. Babaji Rajah Bhonsle was then in his teens. He first lost his father, and then the very next year his grandfather Rajaram Rajah Saheb, who had been the Prince for over five decades throwing the teenager into the deep end and with the onerous task of managing 88 temples under the Palace’s fold. Unfortunately, for the new Prince, this takeover came during terrible phase for temples in TN, one when original inhabitants of agraharams in various temple towns had begun leaving their hereditary locations seeking greener pastures in cities. The situation at the 88 temples for which he was the hereditary trustee was grim. This story explores as to how a young prince orchestrated a positive turnaround in these temples in and around Thanjavur. 

The Grim Scenario in the 1980s

When he took over the reins, the overall mood among the priests and service personnel was extremely negative. They had not been paid their salary for 14 months. Padithurai (contribution for Neivedyam) too was pending for a similar period. The devotee crowd at the temples had come down drastically. The overall financial situation at all the temples was poor. The total assessable income of the 88 temples put together was only Rs. 6Lakhs while the outflow far exceeded that. The man at the helm who was to manage all of these temples had just turned 18. 

A feeling of 'Tsunami hit temples'

Unbelievable it may seem now there was a time in the history of the Thanjavur Palace when the temple staff used to get salary 15 months ahead of time. There was also a period when there was no place to store rice, the availability was in such abundance. And then, in the mid 1980s, the scenario had turned so bad that the Palace had to take provisions on loan from local shops but found it difficult to repay. Musical instruments had become a thing of the past. Both age and finances were against him when he took over the Palace after the sudden passing away of his father and grandfather in successive years “When I took over, it felt like I had taken charge immediately after a Tsunami. Everything seemed so bleak. For a long time, I spent money from my pocket to keep the temples active” says Babaji Rajah Bhonsle looking at those initial years in the 1980s. 

The Big Temple- Bats Aplenty 

The now world renowned Big Temple was dark and inhabited by bats. There was no ghee available to light the lamps in the Sannidhis. Thus in the decades leading to the 1980s, situation at the temples had turned grim. Given the financial scenario of the biggest temples under his management, it had become almost impossible to manage the large number of temples. There was severe pressure from the archakas to pay their salaries. So frustrated were the priests that they asked their children to focus on academics as against the traditional agamas and vedic learning. Many in the new gen moved away from the traditional service. With the existing priests at the Big Temple finding it financially challenging, no new priests were ready to join and there emerged a shortage of service personnel. Following the protests of priests on non-payment of salary, the Big Temple had to even close for a few hours. 

               

Rajaram Saheb at the Thiru Mandangudi Samprokshanam, 1960

75 of the 88 temples were in financial deficit. The physical infrastructure too was in a dilapidated state in most temples. Consecration had not taken place in the 20th Century in most of these temples. Babaji Bhonsle vividly remembers the day when an archaka from Thanjai Maa Mani Koil (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/08/thanjai-maa-mani-divya-desam.html) came on the eve of Vaikunta Ekadasi and placed the key in the palace announcing his decision to not open the temple on that most important day in the year without the settlement of the pending salary. Such were the challenges he had to encounter in his first few years at the helm.

Despite the financially challenging situation, there were those who continued to serve the Lord with great devotion. 87 year old TK Ramanathan Gurukal was one such. He performed pooja at the Big Temple for over four decades in the most challenging of phases. He recounts the years when there was little income “Very few devotees visited the temple. There was minimal Thattu Kaasu. Our salary was in the hundreds. In the 1970s, we were only three of us to manage the pooja in all the sannidhis. But the Palace always stood by us. They were keen on our welfare and tried their best to support us in every possible way. Not once did it cross my mind to go away from the temple.” 

Erudite Scholar and Teacher of Saiva Siddhantha, Octogenarian, 86 year old, T.N. Ramachandran went to the Big Temple quite frequently through the 1940s making the trip across the Cauvery from Thiruvayaru.He settled down in Thanjavur after his graduation and has been there since the 1960s. He delightfully recalls the contented mindset of the Gurukals of the Big Temple in the 1960s and 70s “Despite the low salary, the Gurukals were a totally contented and devoted lot. They saw it as a great blessing to be able to perform daily pooja at such a historic temple and dutifully undertook this service. At no point, did the financial challenges swerve them away from the service to the Lord.”

The 1800s - Managed to hold on to temples 

Just under two centuries ago, the Marathas had established supremacy in the region that led to the British targeting them “We were so dominant that the British targeted us aggressively and seized power from us. We managed to retain the religious properties that included the 88 temples and the lands belonging to these temples” says Babaji Rajah Bhonsle looking back at how they found against the British Tyranny and held on the temple properties  in the Thanjavur region.

It was possibly that personality trait of the Maratha Warriors that held Babaji Rajah Bhonsle in good stead in his early years. He was fearlessness from a very young age and despite the financial challenges, he was confident of a revival and positive turnaround. Not once did frustration get to him. He believed that being surrounded by devotional and energetic people was important. He led a contended life and his wife was a source of great strength for she adapted very well to the challenging times at the Palace. 

Refuses TN CM’s offer in the 1950s 

After independence, the then CM of Madras C Rajagopalachari offered a top Government post to Rajaram Rajah Saheb. Given the unfavourable financial situation at the Palace, an acceptance at that time may have led to a turnaround in the Palace's fortunes. Maha Periyava, the Raja Guru of the Palace, directed the Prince to not move away from the princely status to a Government job. The Palace followed Periyava’s instructions and rejected the TN CM’s offer. Soon, with the land ceiling act coming into force, the Palace faced even more of a financial struggle in the 1960s and 70s. Income from temple lands reduced drastically leading to more financial strain on the Palace. 

Scenario Then in the mid 1980s 

14 months pending salary to priests
75 of the 88 temples were in deficit
Most temples in dilapidated state
Total Assessable income of all the temples was far less than the dues payable
Padithurai (provisions to Madaipalli) was pending for 15months

Orchestrating a Dramatic Turnaround 

What one has seen in the last three decades has been one of the most dramatic turnarounds of temples in Tamil Nadu. So how did the new Prince achieve this? 

As a young boy, Babaji Bhonsle had watched closely the conduct of his grandfather, who was a great influence on him, both in administration as well in human relationships “32 of us lived together in the Palace as a joint family. We knew of no competition either within our family or outside. My grandfather often said that we were seen by the People as Dharma Raja and our foremost role was to take care of the people and serve them.” 

Chalking out a Vision 

Soon after taking charge, he began chalking out the vision for each of these temples and was personally involved in overseeing the operations work. As a first step, he made a detailed analysis of the financial status of all the temples. He constructed a model that would help the temples regain their lost glory. He wanted to ensure that the people connect was back in the temples and thus solicited the active involvement of the Society at Large. Right from the beginning he was clear that he wanted to be surrounded by devotional people He held the view that for temples to survive it had to have support from the local community and hence actively engaged with them to help revive the historical festivals. 

In his typically modest way, Babaji Bhonsle credits the success of restoration of the temples to the community “I only sowed the seeds but it was the people who helped it sprout and grow." 

Same Fixed Salary for Priests in all 88 temples 

One of the most revolutionary steps he took was to pay equal salary to priests at all the 88 temples irrespective of their size and income. This delighted the priests and madaipalli personnel in the smaller temples. Cleanliness at temples was given utmost importance. He forged a strong relationship with the HR & CE and worked in close partnership with them by creating an open and transparent channel of communication. 

As the devotional wave began hitting the TN temples, he performed Consecration in all the 88 temples with the support of the community, something that had been unthinkable at the time he took over in the mid 1980s. When the first set of temples were consecrated, he took the prasadam and personally presented it to the patients in the Government hospital and prayed for their recovery. This decade he has successfully completed a 2nd round of Consecration in most of the temples under his management. 

Health Insurance Cover for Priests 

Over the last decade, he also launched a one of its kind comprehensive health insurance cover for the service personnel in all the 88 temples that has been a great confidence booster especially for the priests’ families. Financial and Health Security measures initiated in these temples have been truly inspirational.

Unchanged Conduct in Good and Bad Times 

88 year old Ramnarayanan, who was in Revenue Department in Thanjavur, has had a close association with the Prince’s family for over six decades. He is full of praise for the way the Palace has managed the temples both in good and bad times “Rajaram Rajah Saheb moved well with the common man on the street and that has been the greatest quality of this Princely family. Babaji Bhonsle is an unassuming personality and has been very efficient in managing these temples. Not once in the last 80 years have I seen anyone in the family misplace the trust of the people especially of the temple service personnel. Many times you would not be able to differentiate the family in a crowd, such has been their simplicity.” 

Pichai Bhattar served at the Thanjai Maa Mani Divya Desam for over 50 years from the 1960s till his death a couple of years back, while Sampath Paricharakar served for four decades at the Madaipalli. Have seen them selflessly serve the Lord, their sons are now continuing the service. 25 year old Sridhar Paricharakar graduated in Commerce and could have taken up a corporate job but he resisted the temptation to move away from temple service and joined the Madaipalli at the Thanjai Maa Mani temple “The Prince takes care of us really well with the salaries across the temples being a fair reward for our service. The overall welfare of our families is also taken care of by the Prince.” 

From Crisis Management to Now, Crowd Management 

These days huge crowd throngs the Big Temple and Punnai Nallur Mariamman temple (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2012/03/punnai-nallur-mariamman-temple.html) that from his early days of focusing his efforts on getting devotees into the temple, Babaji Bhonsle now  has turned his focus on crowd management. There is a devotional wave that has hit temples in TN in the recent past but the Prince strikes a note of caution reminding us that temples are not to be seen just from an architectural view point “We need to remember that this is a place of worship and one of surrendering ourselves to the Lord. It is important to ensure that some of the basic rules of worship are not violated inside the sannidhis.” 

Ramnarayanan finds a mega turnaround from the challenges witnessed ahead of the 1980 Kumbabhisekam “Back then, there was a struggle to put together the requisite finances for the Kumbabhisekam. There was uncertainty all around. People were generally anxious about the successful completion of the event. 40 years on, devotees competed with each other to support this year’s consecration of The Big Temple, a testimony to the tireless work of Prince Babaji Bhonsle.” 

From an Architectural wonder to a Devotional destination 

For a long time, the Big Temple was seen just as an architectural wonder. Prince Babaji Bhonsle has ensured the revival of the devotional flavor at the temple. Every month, Pradhosham attracts tens of thousands of devotees. Decades ago, it was with the income from the Punnai Nallur Mariamman temple that salaries to the Gurukals at the Big Temple were paid. Today, with the efforts of the Prince, the Big Temple has become hugely self sufficient. Ramanadhan Gurukal is delighted at this financial transformation of the Gurukals ‘They are paid reasonably well by the Palace and are now a happy lot and stand financially transformed.’ 

The outcome 

The temples that were in a dilapidated state not so long ago are now thriving under his management. With a renaissance of sorts in the bhakthi movement, the total assessable income of these temples has risen to over Rs. 6 crores from around Rs. 5 Lakhs in the mid 1980s. Historical festivals have been revived in most of all the temples under the Palace’s management. One of the features of his model has been that there have been no ticket sales in any of these temples and there are no special entrances as well. 

It is largely due to the three decades efforts of the Prince to bring the community together that one witnessed such spontaneous response from devotees in terms of voluntary service during the mega event at the Big Temple this year. Round the year, Babaji Rajah Bhonsle involves them actively in every way possible including in Hundial counting and credits them for their support. He always moves around with them and is seen by everyone as being one among them. He has received unconditional support from the society at large. And that’s been one of the key reasons for his success in managing and turning around close to 100 temples. The Prince continues his efforts to secure income from the temple lands that has dwindled in recent decades and he is hopeful that the income will start accruing sooner than later. With the temples now in a happy state, his vision is to bring state of the art administration in these temples using technology. 

He is of the view that it is important to get the next gen to see it as their duty to protect these heritage and historical structures and that one needs to continuously instill this mindset into them.

Transformed Scenario 3 decades later 

Revolutionary step of equal salary for priests in all temples irrespective of size and income 

Consecration done for all the temples – twice in most cases 

Most of the historical utsavams revived 

First of its kind Health Insurance Cover for all Service Personnel including priests 

Active participation from the local community 

Looking to implement state of the art technology to administer 

Even during the period of the lockdown, Prince Babaji Bhonsle has ensured the payment of the salary to the service personnel in all the 88 temples thus taking care of their financial security. 

Prince Babaji Rajah Bhonsle, the real man behind the success of the turnaround, has remained behind the scene, orchestrating the success story without any limelight whatsoever on himself. His demeanour has always been self effacing. His forefathers had undertaken Dharmic activities encouraging and spreading music, art and culture, building chatrams from Grand Anaicut to Rameswaram and taking care of the health of the people in the region through the setting up of hospitals. 

He continues that legacy and has brought back the role of the Thanjavur Palace to its historical glory. When he took over the reigns as a teenager, he saw it as a long rally. Three and a half decades later, he continues to see it as his duty to safeguard, protect and develop these 88 temples. This year’s Kumbabhishekam of The Big Temple, one of the grandest the state has seen, was the culmination of over three decades of hard work by the Prince in bringing the community together in Thanjavur in preserving the rich heritage of the temples.