Tirupati Laddu Prasadam row: TTD performs 'Maha Shanti Homam' to purify temple

NEW DELHI: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) performed a 'shanti homam' ritual at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple complex in Tirumala on Monday. The ceremony was organised in response to the recent controversy surrounding the use of animal fat in the ghee supplied for the preparation of the temple's famous Laddu Prasadam.

Executive officer of TTD, Shamala Rao, along with other officials and priests, participated in the Maha Shanti Homam. The ritual, which involved the installation of three 'homagundams' at the Yagashala within the temple premises, was intended to nullify the "sinful effects" of using the tainted ingredients.

The decision to perform the 'shanti homam' was made after consulting with the Agama adviser and Pedda Jeeyangar, as per the suggestion of chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. This ritual follows the annual 'pavitrotsavam' purificatory ceremony conducted at the temple in August, which aims to counteract any negative effects of unintentional sins committed within the temple complex.

In addition to the 'shanti homam', Mr. Syamala Rao announced that 'panchagavya' would be sprinkled throughout the shrine to further purify the area. "This, we believe, will help restore faith of the devout Hindus after the unfortunate incident," he stated during a media address on Sunday.

Earlier, Agama advisors and priests at the Tirumala temple unanimously suggested purificatory rituals in the kitchen and a yagam to seek pardon for use of alleged animal fat-laced cow ghee in its laddus. Agama advisors are Vedic scholars who oversee temple rituals.

The suggestion was put forward on Saturday at a meeting of Agama advisors and priests to seek their advice on the purificatory measures in view of the ghee adulteration report. The meeting was called by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which runs the Lord Venkateswara temple. Chief priest A Venugopala Deekshitulu and four Agama advisors were among those who met and discussed various purificatory methods.

Sources told TOI that TTD was advised to conduct ‘Mahashanti’ and ‘Vaastu’ homams along with recitation of ‘Nalayira Divya Prabhandam’ and ‘Veda Parayanam’, besides taking up purification rituals at the temple kitchen (Potu).

According to sources, the chief priest and other religious authorities believe that the recently concluded three-day annual 'Pavitrotsavams' festival at the hill temple serves as a sufficient purificatory ritual to seek forgiveness for any intentional or unintentional wrongdoings. They maintain that an additional purification ceremony is unnecessary, especially since the festival was held after the ghee adulteration incident came to light.

The laboratory analysis of samples of cow ghee supplied to the temple for making its famous laddu prasadam during the term of the YSRCP govt in Andhra revealed presence of foreign fats including lard (clarified pig fat), tallow (beef fat) and fish oil. The report was made public by the TDP govt on Thursday.