The popular hill shrine at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh is caught in a controversy over with what namam the idol of Lord Venkateswara should be decorated.
It is reported that the chief Priest Ramana Deekshitulu has done the Puja by using U shape namam to Lord Balaji. The other priests argue that the namam should be in V shape.
On the other hand the chief Priest Deekshitulu has taken his grand son into the sanctum sanctorium which is against the religious rules in the TTD. A show cause notice has already been issued for the chief Priest in this regard seeking his explanation.
A tussle has broken out between the two warring Vaishnava sects of the temple priests on how the “Namam” (forehead mark or tilak) of Lord Venkateswara’s should look like. There has been a long-standing rivalry between “Thenkalai” and “Vadakalai” sects of priests over matters of temple rituals and traditions.
Earlier the row has touched a new low when the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) chief priest Ramana Deekshitulu’s son and priest Arun was suspended for applying “wrong shape of Namam” on the idol. The action followed a complaint made by the Pedda Jeeyar Swamy, one of the hereditary chief of a Mutt located in Tirumala.
The Mutt claimed that the priest had put the Thenkalai Namam instead of Vadakalai Namam.
The “Vadakalai” sect of priests prescribe a ‘U’ shaped Namam, while the “Thengalais” root for a ‘Y’ shape one. Incidentally, both the sects belong to the Sri Vaishnava group and are also often referred as the Iyengar Brahmins.
The rival sect of priests has threatened to move the court over the alleged “intentional change” in the “Namam” of the idol. According to the temple priests, the size and shape of the “Namam” are governed by the principles of “Vaikhanasa Aagamam.”
The change was noticed by Sri Pedda Jeeyar Swami who complained to the TTD authorities. The TTD, in turn, kept a tab on the performance of the priest and took the decision to exclude him from “Abhishekam” duties after they found him erring over the matter of applying “Namam” to the idol.
An apparent change in the practice on what adorns the idol has resulted in one of the sects planning to approach the court. It is not the first time that the two groups have sparred over the matters of temple tradition.
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