'Mistake Was Made': Tirumala Temple Board Holds 'Purification Ritual' In Kitchens Amid Tirupati Laddoo Row

Amid the raging controversy of the alleged use of “beef tallow” in the ghee used to make the famous Tirupati laddoos, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams on Monday (September 23) held a “purification ritual” in the kitchens where the prasadam is prepared.

The ritual, called the Mahashanti Yagam, took place a day after Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu ordered an SIT probe into the alleged use of animal fat in making the consecrated laddoos.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is the board that manages the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala. It said a “mistake” has been committed by offering prasadam and laddoos made of adulterated ghee to the Tirupati deity.

The TTD further said it organised the Mahashanti Yagam as a “purification ritual to atone for this”. The event’s aim was to “rectify the mistake and maintain the sanctity of the temple”, it said.

The board said panchagavya, or five sacred products, were used to purify the laddoo potu (the kitchen where the laddoo is made) and annprasadam potu (the kitchen where the prasadam is made). The entire temple premises were “purified” using panchagavya, it said.

Eight archakas, or priests, and three agama advisers took part in the ritual. TTD executive officer Shamala Rao and other board officials were also present.