A peculiar incident at the Arulmigu Kandaswamy Temple in Thiruporur, near Chennai, has sparked a heated debate after a devotee, Dinesh, accidentally dropped his iPhone into the temple's hundial—a metal donation box—while making offerings.
While Dinesh immediately approached temple officials to retrieve his phone, the temple staff refused, citing a longstanding rule that anything placed into the ‘hundial,’ regardless of intent, is considered a donation to the deity and cannot be returned.
According to Sekar Babu, the Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, offerings made to the deity, whether voluntary or accidental, become "God’s property" and cannot be returned.
Despite this explanation, Dinesh persisted and filed a complaint with the department, hoping to retrieve his device.
When the ‘hundial’ was opened this month, Dinesh's hopes were dashed once again, with temple officials standing firm on their decision.
Dinesh was, however, allowed to recover data from the phone. The incident, which went viral on Indian social media, has sparked controversy, with many questioning the temple's interpretation of its rules.
