Tirumala priests seek reduction in work load

Beneath the timeless chants that echo through the sanctum of Lord Venkateswara’s hill shrine, a quiet concern has reached the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) administration.

Heriditary priests serving at the revered temple have appealed to the management to ease their workload by inducting additional archakas, pointing out that the ritual demands are stretching existing manpower to its limits.

In a representation submitted to TTD Chairman B.R. Naidu, Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal and Additional E.O. Venkaiah Chowdary, the priests urged the recruitment of qualified hands, well-versed in Veda, Agama and temple traditions. Notably, they emphasised that eligibility should rest on ritual competence even if it means recruiting priests beyond the traditional mirasidar families.

For generations, hereditary families of Gollapalli, Peddinti, Paidipalli and Tirupatamma, have been rendering service at the hill temple. Currently, around 49 archakas, largely drawn from these lineages, and a few non-mirasidars shoulder the responsibility of maintaining an exacting ritual calendar. Nearly 450 festivals and sevas done daily, weekly, fortnightly and annually are conducted every year inside the temple in strict adherence to Agama Sastras, leaving little room for respite.

Citing recurrent shortages when families face bereavement, during which customary observances bar the members from temple duties for prescribed periods, they said that similar constraints arise during certain personal and family observances, inevitably shifting the burden to others. The situation is further compounded by impending retirements (with over half a dozen of them already considering retirement in the next couple of years owing to their advancing age), deputations to other TTD-run temples and routine leave, which together strain an already lean workforce.

With only about 30 representatives from the hereditary families presently engaged within the sanctum, senior priests say sustaining the sanctity and precision of rituals is becoming increasingly challenging. It is against this backdrop that the chief priests have sought the management’s intervention.

Confirming the appeal, Additional EO Venkaiah Chowdary told The Hindu that the TTD had received the representation and would examine it in depth before taking a decision on merit, mindful of both tradition and the temple’s growing ritual demands.