Sannidhi Golla, an institution of antiquity

It is said institutions of antiquity should not be altered for temporal reasons. This is exactly what the Andhra Pradesh government is trying to do when they issued the GO 125 for recruitment of Sannidhi Golla at the Tirumala temple. Through this GO it is indicated to be filled by direct recruitment by a person who passed eighth class, of course, in accordance with custom and usage.

Before we examine the relevance of this GO and its implications, let us familiarise ourselves with the evolution of institution of Sannidhi Golla. Legend has it that Lord Vishnu descended on the earth and was resting in an ant hill.

One cow from a herd used to go and empty itself on the ant hill feeding the lord. Having seen this, the cowherd threw a stick and it hit the lord who came out to protect the cow. Lord Vishnu first cursed the cowherd but when he prayed pardoned him and gave the boon to worship him first in Kaliyuga when he would emerge in Venkateswara avatara.

Thus, Sannidhi Golla Kainkaryam is as old as the above legend and is beyond history. In Tirumala, all other Kainkaryams owe their origin to Ramanujacharya who went there in the 11th century at the request of local king and having declared it as a Vaishnavite temple, he streamlined the rituals and prescribed an institutional arrangement for the management of the temple.

His maternal uncle Tirumala Nambi was given the Kainkaryam of fetching the water from Akasha Ganga for daily rituals in the temple and his disciple Ananthazhvan was maintaining a garden for supplying the flowers for worship of the lord. He established the jeeyar muth to supervise the temple rituals and also recognised the right of Vaikhanasa priest Bimbadhara to perform the puja in the temple.

As could be seen above, Sannidhi Golla Kainkaryam is beyond history whereas all other Kainkaryams are institutionalised by Ramanujacharya for the running of the temple in the 11th century. Sannidhi Golla Kainkaryam involves conducting the priest to the temple holding the torch opening the Mahadwaram and lighting the lamp with the torch inside the sanctum sanctorum and having the first darshan of the lord. His participation is a must at the time of naivedyam and is associated with the temple rituals till the closure of the temple.

Such a kainkaryam which is not a job but a matter of faith was been abolished by the state government through an amendment to the Act in 1987 making it a post and prescribing a retirement age. When I was the EO, TTD, I was against the whole concept of retirement for the dharmic staff since essentially it’s a kainkaryam not a job and taking advantage of an amendment to the Endowment Act in 2007 accordingly, I got a resolution passed that there is going to be no retirement to such kainkaryams and they should be allowed to perform the same as long as they are physically and mentally fit.

The TTD Board subsequently seems to have taken a different view on the issue and recommended for retirement of the existing incumbent and to fill it up based on which the government seems to have notified the same for filling up through direct recruitment. The whole process badly reflects both on the board as well as on the government who are unable to understand the difference between a kainkaryam and a duty performed by a person recruited to perform a job.

The Telugu Desam government through their mindless act by amending the Endowments Act in 1987, tinkering with the existing structure without substituting an appropriate alternative structure in place, has already contributed to the total destruction of small temples in the villages facilitating the spread of other religions unchallenged. Similarly, during Naidu’s earlier tenure, Thousand Pillar Mandapam, a historical structure representing the heritage of the Tirumala temple was demolished. Now it seems to be the turn of other institutions.