Tirumala priest in a spot again

Tirupati: Chief priest of the Tirumala shrine A.V. Ramana Dikshithulu has landed in trouble once again within 10 days.

Pedda Jeeyar Swamy, one of the hereditary chiefs of the Jiyyangar Mutt in Tirumala, has allegedly complained to TTD officials that Mr Dikshithulu had changed the namam on the forehead of the Lord on Friday.

TTD had served notice on the chief priest for taking his grandson into the sanctum sanctorum during the recent brahmotsavams.

The TTD had earlier transferred senior priest A.V. Arun Dikshitulu, the son of Mr Ramana Dikshithulu, to the Srivari temple at Alipiri after the Pedda Jeeyar Swamy had complained about him for the same reason last year.

There is a longstanding feud over the namam between archakas belonging to Vadakalai and Thenkalai sects of Vaishnavites in the temple.

As per the Vadakalai tradition, the namam is white, “U” shaped, with a yellow paste in the middle. In the Thenkalai tradition, the namam of the deity is “Y” shaped with a red tilak in the middle.

To put an end to the dispute between the two sects, it had been decided during the British rule to adopt a middle path between the two traditions and it has been continuing since then, though there have been disputes once in a while.

According to priests, the size, shape and details of the namam are governed by the Vaikhanasa Agama Shasta and it is changed once a week, on Friday, after Abhishekam.

Only select priests of the Vaikhanasa tradition are allowed to put the namam with paste made of camphor and saffron.