Why Males are not allowed to wear Shirt in South Indian Temples?

In Numerous south Indian temples males are not allowed to cover upper body or can’t wear shirt. Now the question is, why is it so? Is there any specific reason due which they had to follow this tradition?

Introduction

South Indian Temples

Along with great architecture and unique structures, the beautiful South Indian temples also consist of several unique traditions and rituals. Some Indian temples possess spiritual or divine powers, and some temples have very antique and ancient buildings. Experts also have no answer as to how these temples were created. There are numerous temples in which there is a certain dress code that devotees have to follow. For example, in south India, several pilgrims are not allowed to enter wearing shirts, and in mosques, males have to wear a cap before performing their “Azaan,” females have to cover their heads during prayer, etc.

Purpose of this Blog

Due to these weird traditions, rituals, and beliefs, many questions arise, like: why do these traditions look weird and different? Why did ancient people create these kinds of rituals? What would be the reason that they decided to pass on these beliefs to future generations? In this blog, we will try to convey the valid meaning of the tradition that in temples in south India, men don’t cover the upper body, including how many temples still have this belief in their culture and how native people and priests define this tradition of not wearing shirts.

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Evolution and Journey of Tradition

Why all men are not wearing shirts?

While exploring the temple in south India, numerous people would find something weird or some kind of restriction or dress code to enter the temple. During prayer, while everybody is busy chanting mantras, you will witness that almost every man who presented here is not wearing shirts or not covering his upper body. On the other hand, all women’s dresses are elegant and colorful traditional sarees. This difference in dressing may give rise to the question, Is this an open discrimination? and will create a wave of curiosity.

Ancient Text over the Concept

Now the question is, from where did this concept of an open chest come? What exactly does this mean? In reality, Hinduism and its customs may look strange and unreal, but most of them contain valid reasons and very different explanations. According to the ancient texts and scripts, this belief in the bare chest has another meaning. The Rig Veda, the oldest text of Hinduism and holy book, contains many spiritual practices where men perform prayer without covering their upper body parts.

Even in other books like Manusmriti and Smriti, there are several texts that highlight the importance of purity while entering the temple. According to these ancient statements, garments may collect impurities and bacteria, so when performing prayer with purity, men shed their shirts.

Read Also: Why in different mythologies Pine cone posses important place?

Symbolism of Tradition

On the contrary, leaving the concept of hygiene behind, south Indian culture has different specifications over this tradition of not wearing shirts. According to them, the human body is considered a microcosm of the universe, while the chest is represented as the seat of atman, the eternal soul. The belief in not wearing a shirt means that uncovering the layer of ego and societal constructs connects with divine powers, purity, and cosmic energy. And also, this promotes a sense of equality by avoiding religion, skin color, or any kind of social status and creating the same level for all.

Temples with Tradition

There are several South Indian temples where this tradition plays a vital role, and everyone never lets go of these practices. Let’s see how many temples still follow this same tradition.

Kerala

• Sabarimala Temple: This temple is basically dedicated to Lord Ayyappan. In this pilgrimage, males have to wear black dhotis and no shirt for prayer. This is a symbol of surrender and oneness with nature.
• Mookambika Temple: The temple is situated in the Western Ghats and is dedicated to the goddess Parvati, who places importance on simplicity and austerity. For performing prayer, all men have shed their shirts.

Tamil Nadu

• Madurai’s Meenakshi Amman Temple: Temple, which showcases its vibrant architecture marvel, is another temple of goddess Parvati, where men offer their devotion by being shirtless, which is a symbol of humility and wholeheartedly seeks divine grace.
• Srirangam’s Ranganatha Swamy Temple: It is on the list of the largest temples in India, and being the Vaishnav temple, men have shed their shirts and uncovered their upper bodies to enter and pray in the temple. It is a sign of surrender and oneness.

Karnataka

• Mysore’s Chamundeshwari Temple: The powerful and spiritual temple of Goddess Durga, where men can be seen without their shirts or bare chests displaying their respect and devotion to their God.
• Melkote’s Cheluvanarayana Swamy Temple: This temple is dedicated to the Lord Vishnu and situated in Mandya district, where men practice several rituals, like Garuda Dharshansm, being bare chest or shirtless.

Tradition According to Priest

It always seems unbelievable that native people have embraced these traditions very positively and gracefully. There are several interviews in which young males share their first experiences in these temples. They say it was quite embarrassing for the first, but after seeing others following the same tradition and understanding the meaning of this belief, it felt like a direct connection with God.

According to old people, they are witnessing the same tradition from the time of their grandparents, and they even say their grandparents used to say this was a way of showing respect to God as well as to each other.

While according to priests, they still follow this tradition to preserve their heritage that has been transferred over the years, and not only men but also women have their own specific rituals and dress codes, this tradition does not support any kind of inequality.

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Conclusion

Tradition and culture play vital roles in our daily lives. Since ancient times, people’s have positively embraced all the beliefs without any refusal. Out of these traditions, one of the most popular is male being bare chest in south Indian pilgrimage for prayers. In simple words, men are not allowed to enter temples with shirts; they have shed their shirts for praying as a symbol of surrender, purity, and oneness. This shows that ancient peoples were very conscious while developing all these customs. And also, native peoples have adapted this very gracefully, and now it lives in their hearts. These customs, when mixed with incredible architecture, give vibrant and very unrealistic features to spirituality.

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