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Why rituals at Tirumala temple in Tirupati are being challenged in Supreme Court

Supreme Court is hearing a petition, based on an almost year-and-a-half old complaint, which had alleged irregularities in the rituals being practiced at the Tirupati temple. 

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Hyderabad: On Wednesday, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana made news after he turned to Telugu to tell a petitioner that as a Lord Balaji devotee, he needed to “have patience”. 

The court was hearing a petition, based on an almost year-and-a-half old complaint, which had alleged irregularities in the rituals being practiced at the Tirumala Temple in Tirupati. 

The petition claims that special pujas, sevas and darshans are not being practiced according to the Agama Shastra, which is considered the manual for the construction, ways to worship and practice rituals at Hindu temples. Simply put, it is a Vedic guide for the functioning of Hindu temples. 

What does the petition say? 

The petition claims irregularities in certain key rituals such as the Vahana Seva during the annual Brahmotsavam festival, which is on 7 October this year. 

Vahana translates to vehicle and in this particular service, the deity is made to sit on an idol and is taken around streets in a grand procession. This year, however, the event is not being promoted due to the Covid pandemic. 

“The Agama Shastra clearly states how the deity should be taken in the four madas — meaning four directions of north, south, east and west. But that’s not being done, especially since the government decided to celebrate Brahmotsavams in private since Covid hit the state,” the petitioner Srivari Daadaa told ThePrint.

If the ritual cannot be executed properly it can be cancelled, they need not do it. But, they cannot modify it or do just a part of it as per their convenience,” said Daadaa, who claims to be a ‘temple researcher’ and is a native of Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. 

His petition also claims irregularities in Darshanams, in which devotees worship the deity, adding that they’re allowed only until a certain point from where the feet of the deity is not visible to the pilgrims. 

According to Daadaa, this is unacceptable as per Vedic manuals. 

The petition also claims that the Abhishekam seva (anointing the deity with milk) is poorly practiced. 


Also read: Will work with Prashant Kishor, he promised to help me, Jagan’s sister YS Sharmila says


What has the apex court said?

The Supreme Court Wednesday sought a response from the temple board to the petition.

But CJI N.V. Ramana has questioned how a constitutional court can interfere in the manner in which daily pujas are conducted, and how could it determine how many devotees are to be allowed during darshanams, thereby questioning if these were part of individual fundamental rights. 

Satya Sabharwal, the counsel for the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which runs the temple, said they would file their affidavit soon.

“The petitioner alleged wrongdoings of the board and how certain rituals were not practiced as per Agama Shastra. We are going to file an affidavit in a day or two,” he said. “In fact, the board already formed a committee to look into this issue and if the rituals are happening as per the shastras.”

This, however, is not the first time that the temple management is facing allegations of meddling with rituals. 

Several senior priests such as C.S. Rangarajan, head priest of the Chilkur Balaji temple (another temple popular with Venkateshwara devotees), and former top Andhra government official IYR Krishna Rao, have alleged that the temple ‘administration’ is not implementing the rituals according to tradition. 

Why did the CJI speak in Telugu?

According to petitioner Srivari Daadaa, CJI N.V. Ramana asked him to show patience in Telugu after he pushed for his case to be heard. 

Daadaa had first filed a writ petition in the Andhra Pradesh High Court in March last year. Following a counter affidavit from the TTD, the petition was dismissed, which is when he moved the apex court.

According to Daadaa, the petition was registered in April and was yet to be listed. The petitioner told ThePrint that he made multiple requests for almost three months, to the SC registry officials seeking a listing. 

The petitioner also ‘mailed’ the registry last week asking the officials if they were “killing his case by not listing it and he would ‘die for justice if not listed immediately”.’ 

Hearing the petition Wednesday, the CJI told the petitioner in Telugu, to exercise some patience, saying that a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara would not lose patience.

“This came in response to me requesting the bench to hear my argument patiently. He also told me to not blackmail the court in such a way,” Daadaa told ThePrint Thursday adding that he wanted the petition to be heard before the annual ‘Brahmotsavam’ festival on 7 October.

The petitioner also said that the CJI told him that the bench were also devotees of Lord Venkateshwara.

The bench also included Justices Hima Kohli and Surya Kant.

(Edited by Arun Prashanth)


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