The temple of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala, the world’s richest,
revered by millions, is in the news with its clergy and the temple administration locked in a veiled game of power politics. The latest controversy has the four hereditary chief priests of the temple pitted against the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).
Leading the revolt is A V Ramana Dikshitulu, a 62-year-old molecular biologist, who returned to the family calling of priesthood in 1974.
His contention: the TTD, which manages the temple with an annual budget of Rs 1,600 crore and cash deposits of about Rs 4,500 crore, is ignoring the hereditary priests in the matters related to temple liturgy and not bestowing upon them the privileges they are entitled to.
But according to highly placed sources, while the priests are at the forefront of the attack against the TTD, there are also some powerful individuals operating behind the scenes. Their goal: restoration of the temple’s trust board to politicians and others instead of the bureaucrats currently running the show.
It was in 1110 AD that Vaishnavaite saint Ramanujacharya visited Tirumala and noticed four families performing rituals to Lord Venkateswara in accordance with the Vaikhanasa tradition. He established an order to supervise the daily sevas to the Lord and put in place a Jeeyar (a pontiff) from his sect to perform this role. The system prevails to this day. Apart from being entitled to perform the rituals, the priests from the four families enjoyed what is known as mirasi (the eligibility to receive a part of the temple’s income).
All priests employed by the temple came under their control. The system prevailed until chief minister N T Rama Rao abolished the mirasi system. The hereditary priests challenged the move in the courts and in 1997, the Supreme Court upheld the dissolution of the mirasi system. An appeal is still pending.
In 2006, then chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy restored some of the rights of the hereditary priesthood but not the monetary benefits under the mirasi system. Last year, his successor, K Rosaiah, conferred a few more benefits on the chief priests, but it came with a rider: the appeal in the Supreme Court had to be withdrawn. In the meantime, the salary of the chief priests was raised to `50,000 per month from the paltry Rs 200.
Ramana Dikshithulu, however, continues to fume. “We have more knowledge of the rituals and practices of the temple. But the administration is sidestepping us. Instead, it is following suggestions made by advisers on the Agama Shastras (liturgical texts). These are outsiders and the violation of the Agama Shastras is taking place quite frequently,” he complains.
On the other hand, there are others who strongly argue that not all the hereditary chief priests have a sound knowledge of the scriptures, thereby requiring the Agama advisors to continue their roles.
But what exactly is bothering the hereditary chief priests? Is it the precedence accorded to the Jeeyar math of the Ramanuja sect? The answer appears to be yes.
The Jeeyar math gets an annual sanction of over `1 crore and the head has the freedom to choose the Ekankis (the priest’s helpers) and Adhyapakas (the people who recite the hymns). They are paid by the math.
But TTD executive officer I Y R Krishna Rao, a senior IAS officer, does not intend to join the debate. “The chief priest has not met me nor made any complaint about any insult to them. How can I react to what they are saying outside? I will definitely look into their grievances if they are brought to my notice,” he says.
Sources said the TTD is not averse to according a package of privileges to the hereditary chief priests similar to that accorded to the Jeeyar math. But it wants the Supreme Court petition to be dropped. The chief priests argue that the necessary orders should be issued before they withdraw the petition.
Sri Shatagopa Ramanuja Pedda Jeeyar, the highest custodian of the Tirumala temple, says every single ritual is being performed as per the Agama Shastra. Refusing to be drawn into a controversy over Dikshitulu’s complaints of being sidelined, he feels that the Tirumala temple will prosper only when the TTD and the priests work together.
Those in the know say the latest row is more than just a fight over rituals. Dikshitulu reportedly has the backing of former MP, D K Audikeshavulu Naidu, who served as chairman of TTD till last November and had a running feud with Krishna Rao. Rosaiah was so irked over the controversies that when the board’s term expired, he chose not extend it (Naidu was said to have moved even 10 Janpath), and went ahead and constituted a Specified Authority comprising bureaucrats instead.
The Specified Authority, in the few months since its formation, has taken a series of decisions to simplify processes and facilities for the ordinary devotees while minimising the scope for ‘VIP influence’ but it is said that chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is already under pressure to replace the Specified Authority with a conventional board, headed by a politician.
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