PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION FILED BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA AGAINST TIRUMALA TIRUPATI DEVASTHANAMAS (TTD) FOR VIOLATING THE AGAMA SHASHTRAS IN THE WORSHIP OF LORD VENKATESHWARA AT TIRUMALA.
My Team and myself consider ourselves blessed to have been given an opportunity to work for the implementation of correct rituals that have to be followed in the worship of Lord Venkateshwara (Lord) at Tirumala which is considered to be a very sacred Mandir by the Hindus not only in India but across the globe.
As per the scriptures, it is believed that Lord Venkateshwara is swayamprakat (self occurring) and that he has been in the Tirumala Hills for over 5,000 years. Many miracles have been associated with this temple and it is believed that no one comes empty handed from this temple. In Sanatana Dharma, this temple is probably given the highest rank when it comes to sanctity because of several reasons one of which is that the Lord is swayamprakat.
It is recorded in the holy scriptures that when Lord Venkateshwara came to the Seven Hills looking for his Consort Maa Laxmi, he had to live in a cave and was fed by a cow herd (Golla) who was blessed with a boon that the first offerings made to Lord Venkateshwara would be the offering of the cow herd, i.e. the milk of an indigenous cow. Hence since time immemorial, the Lord has been worshiped and prasadam has been made by the use of milk, ghee and butter procured from indigenous cows. However, in the last few decades, the practice of using jersey milk in the worship of Lord Venkateshwara has become a practice and the said practice goes against the Agama Sashtras which mandate that only pure milk from an indigenous cow or butter and ghee from indigenous cows should be procured and offered to the Lord.
It is a known fact amongst Hindus that the indigenous cows are deemed to be Gau Mata. All the by-products of these indigenous cows, known as “Panchagava” are utilized for some purpose or the other including treatment for disease. Undoubtedly, the status of the indigenous cow is so supreme that there are several references to the cows in the Shahstras and the Vedas and is second only to the word Agni. With this, one can understand the importance, significance, standing and worth of Gau Mata and there is no way that the indigenous cow can be equated to the so-called crossbred cows. In fact, the TTD itself under a Resolution passed on 27.02.2021, wanted the Gau Mata to be declared to be India’s National Animal. All the above facts point towards the sanctity and piousness of the indigenous cows.
Yuga Thulasi Foundation that works for the betterment of cows that have been abandoned, sick or dry or in any other manner victimized or subjected to cruelty were the crusaders for this move before the Supreme Court of India. The Chairman of this organization being an erstwhile Member of the Board of TTD got to know that the use of milk from any source other than indigenous cows was against the age-old practices and customs that have been codified in the Agama Shashtras. He along with other like-minded Hindus got a Board Resolution passed by TTD in June 2021, whereby it was resolved that only products used from cow-based farming including ghee would be used in the worship of the Lord. It was decided that a mega dairy would be set up within the premises of Tirupati (S.V Goshala) that would become a mega dairy and would cater to the daily requirement of ghee used for Prasadam, abhishekam, etc. In July 2021, this became an order of the Addl. EO of TTD. Sadly, the order has not been implemented till date.
Yuga Thulasi Foundation and 3 likeminded Hindus, namely Shri Devendra Pandey, Shri Sunil Mansinghka and Dr. M. Srikanth Varma approached the Supreme Court in a PIL. Unfortunately, the Bench was not inclined to hear the matter directly and asked the Petitioners to approach the High Court first. As Counsel, I tried to impress on the Court that this PIL was not regional in nature but affected Hindus across the country and that there were many people who were coming forward as donors by donating money, cows, land, expertise etc., to make the mega dairy a success.
Last year, the Prasadam of TTD was found to be adulterated as the ghee that was used contained fish oil, beef tallow and lard much to the horror of Hindus across the world. The matter reached the Supreme Court in a Writ Petition, titled as Subramaniam Swamy Vs State of Andhra Pradesh. The Supreme Court of India after hearing the parties directed the appointment of a SIT Committee that would investigate into the matter. Several arrests were made. The dairies that were supplying the ghee to the temple were investigated and a SIT Report stands in a sealed cover before the Supreme Court of India. Sadly, even today, the ghee that is being supplied for the Prasadam continues to be that of a jersey cow instead of indigenous cows.
By this article, we are reporting the correct facts that led to the matter and the reason why the Supreme Court asked us to approach the concerned High Court. After the matter, there were several reports from different sources which are reproduced below and some of which have given incorrect information.
As devout Hindus, we support the cause and belief that the Lord should be worshiped in the correct manner in order to enjoy his grace and blessings.
Sushila Ram Varma
Advocate, Supreme Court
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