Irregularities Surface in Sparsha Darshanam at Srisailam Temple

Kurnool: Sparsha darshanam – allowing devotees to touch the Siva Linga – at the Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple in Srisailam has become a money churner for a segment of employees entrenched in the temple administration, a recent probe conducted by the temple's executive officer has revealed.

For devotees visiting the revered Srisailam, sparsha darshanam of Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy is a cherished part of their pilgrimage. Historically, sparsha darshanam had been provided to all devotees.

However, due to crowds multiplying and increasing demand for Arjitha Sevas, temple authorities implemented a revised policy two years ago. Free sparsha darshanam could be had from Tuesday to Friday between 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

But temple authorities discontinued this service on December 1, 2024, citing the growing rush of devotees who prefer sparsha darshanam. Authorities decided to limit such darshan to devotees purchasing ₹500 tickets.

Currently, ₹500 tickets for the darshan are sold online, primarily for weekends and Mondays. However, many devotees struggle to secure these tickets online. Thus devotees turn to local brokers and temple staff, who facilitate access to sparsha darshanam using alternative darshan tickets like Vriddha Mallikarjuna Swamy and Vedashirvachanam tickets.

This has resulted in loss of revenue that accrued from the ₹500 tickets, in addition to violation of the official rule. This led to the temple executive officer holding a probe.

This revealed that a segment of the staff has become entrenched and is exploiting the system for personal gain. They collect money from devotees and allow the darshan, thus undermining the integrity of temple services.

An official of the temple said the temple executive officer must strictly enforce the Endowments commissioner's directive of mandatory internal transfers every six months to promote transparency and avoid such irregularities.