TIRUPATI: Historians and archaeologists have found fault with Ananda Nilayam Anantha Swarnamayam project of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) stating that it does not bode well for the world famous Venkateswara temple.
Participating in a discussion on `Tirumala - Safeguarding the originality of the ancient structure’, retired TTD chief engineer V Anjaneyulu Naidu said according to Puranas the Tirumala temple has been in existence for the past 28 Maha Yugas that is 7.77 crore years and the human built temple structure is 1,800-year-old. Devotees visit the temple not to see the grandeur of the edifice but to seek the blessings of the presiding deity, Whom they revere and trust. Hence, there is no need for an additional ornamentation to it. Technically also the Anantha Swarnamayam Project is not good for the structural integrity of the temple, he said.
In Vimana Prakaram of the temple, the empty space is only 10-ft. As part of the project, a steel framework needs to be erected and on which copper plates with gold plating will be fixed. There will be a gap of 3 to 6 inches between the framework and the temple walls. ``Once the gold plating is done, there will not be any scope to clean the walls.
There is a possibility of chemical reaction on the temple walls due to lack of exposure to the sunlight and it will become a breeding ground for bacteria,’’ he said.
To prevent theft of gold plates, the TTD need to erect a fencing which further reduces the available empty space in Vimana Prakaram to a mere 5 ft which is not enough even to take the presiding deity in a procession around the temple during rituals. Instead of Anantha Swarnamayam project, the TTD should focus on improvement of pilgrim amenities on the hill shrine, he said.
Epigraphist N Krishna Reddy said inscriptions are the bridges to the past and through them only we are able to know our history. Stone inscriptions are permanent and they are symbols of our heritage. Hence, they should not be neglected or tampered with. ``Anantha Swarnamayam project is nothing but tampering with the symbols of heritage.
Hence, the TTD should give up the project,’’ he said.
Sri Venkateswara University history professor Neerajaksha Naidu said the walls of Tirumala temple have 640 ancient inscriptions, which scholars like Sadhu Subramanyam Sastri and Veturi Prabhakar Shastri studied providing us insight to history.
``If not for the inscriptions, we would have been bereft of the history of the famous temple and its rituals,’’ he said.
Oriental Research Institute director Y Venkataramana Reddy said when even the Communist countries are taking much care to preserve the symbols of their history, why we want to cover them depriving the future generations of of the rich heritage.
Archaeology professor Kiran Kranth Chowdary said temples are not only the places of worship but also centres of culture and heritage.
Inscriptions on temples are very important links to our past and they should be preserved and not in copy form. Natural is always better than artificial and it applies to everything, he said.
Mukku Satyavanthudu, a lawyer who is working to get the High Court stay on the project vacated, stormed into the meeting hall and argued that the project would help the temple. Deliberations on the project should have taken place 18 months ago when it was initiated and not now when it is in its final stages, he said.