'Private Homam' inside temple by TTD board member sparks controversy

30-11-201930-11-2019 10:37:02 IST
2019-11-30T05:07:02.923Z30-11-2019 2019-11-30T05:07:00.043Z - - 02-04-2020

 

A suspected private homam held at Tirumala by a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) trust board member has sparked off a massive controversy. Reportedly, board member Krishnamoorthy Vaithiyanathan organised a homam involving 60 priests from different parts of the country on Friday. 

According to the temple rules, no individual is allowed to conduct private homams. The trust board member, flouting the rules organised the private homam on the eve of the Shastiabdhapoorthi (a ceremony performed on the 60th birthday of a man) of his in-laws, sources said.

 

While the homam was on, all the devotees were restricted from entering the temple and only trust board members and family of Vaithiyanathan was allowed inside the premises of Kapileswara Swamy temple while the doors were locked for others.

It is still unclear who accorded permission. When DC approached the Kapileswara Swamy temple’s Deputy executive officer Subramanyam, he maintained that the Homam was permitted and that due procedure was followed. He also denied that the private Homam was restricted.

When this newspaper contacted Vaithiyanathan, he said the homam was performed for the well-being of humankind and the entire universe.