From

A.Devi Kumar,

1 E ,1st Floor,Gee Gee Minar,

Nungambakkam,

Chennai-600 006.

To
The Commissioner,

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department ,

119 Uttamar Gandhi Salai, Nungambakkam,

Chennai -34.

Sub: Right for information under the Right to Information Act 2005.

Sir,

Please provide true, certified copies of the following in respect of

temple at Therazhundur Vedapureeswarar Temple

at Therazhundur in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu, India

:
1. How many people work as temple priest in the temple?

2. 2.How many security persons employed in the temple?

3. How many sweepers employed in the temple?

4. How many clerks and other employees employed in the temple?

5.Details of the salary given to temple priest, sweepers, security and

other employees?

6.How many daily poojas are conducted in the temple?

7.How many times abishekams are conducted in the temple?

8.How many idols are there in the said temple?

9.What is the amount Department is allotting to the said temple for

its administration apart from the salary?

10.What are the special poojas conducted in the said temple?

11.Any yearly temple festival is conducted in the last 10 years.If so

when?

12.Any valuables like icon, gold and silver and other metals is there
for the said temple?
 13.Is daily prasadam is offered to deities and distributed to the
devotees?

14.How many people in an average visit that temple in a day?

Name:

I hereby inform that:

1.I am a citizen of India.

2.I am a strong devotee of Shiva and a regular visitor of Therazhundur

Vedapureeswarar Temple at Therazhundur in Nagapattinam district of Tamil
Nadu, India. T
It starts from 3000 Rs/- And in most temples, there is no fixed salary. They are supposed
to wake up very early in the morning day-in and day-out. No holidays. On our holidays
it is more work for them. It is not easy to get married. It is not easy to educate children
and move up the ladder. In many cases, it is a huge responsibility with no real benefits. It
 is lesser than the minimum wages set by the labor department, if it is a temple adapted
by the government. The dakshina (offerings) after mangalarthi is the chief contributor
for the purohit’s living.

The hundi which is kept in temple is used for the development of the temple, the
donations from believers which are transferred to the temple’s account also is used by
the trust or the government department for development activities. The purohit’s state
of affairs on earning through priesthood is abysmally low.

There are few trusts who provide the priest a salary of Rs. 20000/- per month and a
small house within temple premises to stay, some even provide Health Insurance
Benefits also. But, they are quite rare and not common.

It is essential for Hindus to visit temples often, help those

Someone filed a writ petition at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court regarding the
salary of temple priests in some 50 temples in southern states .

At the time of filing the petition, a priest named Narasimha Gopalan was getting a monthly
salary of Rs. 750, which is a three-fold increase from the Rs. 250 that he was getting for
almost a decade. His father performed service at the temple in the 1980s at a salary of just
Rs. 55 a month. There are six other full-time service personnel at the temple, each of whom
gets a three-figure salary.

Shocking is the fact that a priest at the nearby Vilvanathar temple in Pathamadai is paid a
salary of Rs. 19 per month while at the historical and ancient Kailasanathar temple in
Brahmadesam, the priest is paid a salary of Rs. 215.

source: an article published in ‘The Hindu’ news paper.

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Akash Chandra Mugri, has a temple of our family in our village in odisha
Answered Jan 6, 2017

a priest in india demands 5000 to 8000 per month or one acre of land . the ancient temples
of india were built under the supervision of kings of that time. they used to give many acres
of land to the temple so that the priests of the temple and their family can make a living.
priests of famous temples like tirupati get a salary of more than one lakh. this is decided by
the trust who takes care of all the accounts of the temple.

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Beligere Manjunath, Educator, Quantum Physicist, Meta Physicist, Etymologist,

Updated Jul 11
 In Karnataka, currently it is Rs. 550 per month. In this he is supposed to obtain flowers and oil for the lamps. The Priests had
sent a delegation to the Government some 12 years back, the then Govt did not yield.

But all the offerings in to the Hundi goes to the Mujarai Commission, which means the Govt. The Govt appoints cleaners to
the same temple whose Salary is Rs. 6000 per month, which is minimum wages.

This is secularism. I do not find any NGOs or Media agitating.

Most Priets eke out a life by performing pujas at the homes of the faithful , or in Festivals.

A canard has been spread in our...

(more)

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hocking is the fact that a priest at the nearby Vilvanathar temple in

Pathamadai is paid a salary of Rs. 19 per month while at the historical and
ancient Kailasanathar temple in Brahmadesam, the priest is paid a salary
of Rs. 215.

Narasimha Gopalan has put together data on the salary paid to priests and
other temple service personnel in close to 50 ancient temples in the
Ambasamudram region. He cites a couplet from Tirukural: Aa payan
kunrum aruthozhilor nool marappar kaavalan kavaan Enin — If the ruler
does not take care of his subjects and does not give them their fair dues,
the cow count will decrease and the Brahmins whose job it is to chant and
teach the Vedas will take up other jobs.
With such low salaries, most of the temples located in remote areas are
manned by one person, the priest, who takes care of the temple’s upkeep
besides performing puja.

The HR and CE Department is restricted by the rule that payment of

salaries should not go beyond 40 per cent of the total income of the
temple. In his petition, Narasimha Gopalan says that irrespective of the
income of the temple, the nature and working time of rendering services
by the archakas are by and large one and the same. And priests in such
remote temples have to take care of all the shrines, single-handed.

T.R. Ramesh, president, Temple Worshippers Society, says that the

fundamental problem lies in the classification of temples based on their
incomes and not on their religious significance like Thevaram Sthalam or
Divya Desam. “They are not classified by how big the temples are and
how many shrines they have nor based on the extent of immovable
properties. Every Divya Desam and Thevara Sthalam should have
adequate number of priests and that is possible only by giving the priests
a reasonable monthly income and benefits. It is not right to have a salary
cap of 40 per cent of the temple’s income and pay such shockingly low
salaries to the priests.”

In his petition, Narasimha Gopalan has said that low salary amounts to
denying the priests the right to lead a decent life, which is a violation of
Article 21 of the Constitution. “It falls to the Government to initiate steps
in order to ensure them a decent living and minimum wages,” says
Narasimha Gopalan.

In his petition, he has pleaded with the Court to invoke its extraordinary
jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and direct the
HR & CE to fix a pay scale for Archakas and other servants who are
directly involved in the temple service.

He is of the view that at least Rs. 400 a day (Rs. 12,000 a month) would
be reasonable for full-time long serving temple priests and service
personnel in remote temples.

“Currently, the priests are placed at par with sweepers and are below
drivers in designation. This is totally unfair. Priests have to learn the
Vedas for at least seven years and train in sastras for three years. The
position of priests must be much higher and salary fixed accordingly,”
says Ramesh.
I I recently read that Archakas of Tamilnadu temples under Tamilnadu Hindu
Religious & Charitable Endowment Department are asking for a Hike in their salary from a
meagre Rs 3500 or so. When Government is earning lot of money from the Temples under
their control, I do not think it is too much to enhance their salary to some minimum amount
required. Many temples are without Nithya Poojas because of paucity of Archakas because
many people do not want to take up the job of Archakas bcacuse of very low salary. When
Officers and other staff of the Hindu Endowment Department get more salary, I feel it is high
time to increase the salary of the Archakas too because of whom the department is earning
so much money.

Though not related, I read that government has announced a monthly salary of Rs 20,000
to Moulvis of Madrassas and also distributed cheques to that effect, though the government
is not receiving any revenue from these institutions. It is not my intention to object to this,
but I use this to highlight plight of the Archakas.

Is it not fair on the part of the Archakas to ask for a hike when their service is contributing
money to the department?

I request the Hon. Chief Minister, Hon. governor to look into the matter and solve the
problems of Archakas immediately.

Yours Sincerely,

What is this appeal all about?

There are more than 30,000 Hindu temples (Saiva & Vaishnava) in Tamil Nadu. It was
brought to our notice that, most of the temple priests / Archakas are getting their salaries in
3 digit numbers in INR every month.(ex. Rs 750 per month ~ USD 10.5 per month).

It is said that it is only due to the archaka (Priest) the deity form is filled with the potency of
God. Needless to say the opposite that if there is no priest there is no God. Not everyone is
blessed with the skills and capability to install and maintain the potency of God. This duty
has been handed to the blessed priests in temples. Let us support them to our best ability.

Our Archakas or priests of today live by principles laid out to them, and perform duties to
the supreme lord with love and care. They are often resigned to living a life of extreme
austerity regardless of what the future looks like and hence live by meagrely wages that is
not sufficient even for 3 full meals a day despite rendering service to the lord whose temples
are taken over by the government. Though they are government workers – they get an
unfairly low sum as wages around Rs.750 a month – a far cry from a decent standard of
living needed in today’s economic conditions.

Due to such a low salary, most of the temples in remote areas are manned by one person,
the priest, who takes care of the temple’s upkeep besides performing puja. Thus, the
current payment restriction doesn't seem to consider the amount of effort and man power
required to maintain the temple. The Pension paid for the priest needs revision too.
“Currently, the priests are placed at par with sweepers and are below drivers in designation.
This is totally unfair. Priests have to learn the Vedas for at least seven years and train in
sastras for three years. The position of priests must be much higher and salary fixed
accordingly,” – Reference from The Hindu.

Tamil Nadu has seen such eminent personalities such as Shankracharya and
Ramanujacharya- two towering masters of Vedantic philosophy. It was widely known to
propagate academic research and education in Vedas, Upanishads and the rich god centric
tradition that Archakas and future Archakas engaged in. However, today atheistic elements
have blatantly shaped this in such a way as to force the people out to other high paying jobs
or to abandon Dharmic – Vedantic studies to push the ancient knowledge into permanent
darkness. Such nefarious are the policies enacted for so many years that – economically
depriving Archakas only to feed the so called fake religious leaders was intended to this - A
systematic ethnic cleansing of Hindus to feed atheistic elements that claim to form a
‘secular’ state.

I sincerely call upon one and all to consider this and help us support the Archakas to have a
better standard of life by obtaining and exercising their moral right to decent wages (at least
Rs. 30,000 per month) so as to continue their highest standards of living and to propagate
vedic studies to the future generations.

Why do we need to support this cause?

Kakinada: More than one lakh families of temple priests (archakas) in the state are
eking out a livelihood, with the temples not getting enough revenue and the priests not
getting a remunerative salary.
Though the Supreme Court gave a clear verdict bringing the priests under Pay Revision
Scale, without showing any discrimination, the government was not able to implement it
due to various reasons.

These families are Below the Poverty Line and most of the priests have no other
sources of income. They are not able to educate their children in a better way and are
not able to get alternative livelihood sources as their main intention is serving the God
or Goddess and to protect the temples and tradition.
They are afraid to take up any other job, as the temples may get closed down and they
wish to serve the God. But, they are now living in utter poverty.
According to sources, the downfall of temples and priests began since 1987 when the
then Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao abolished the shares in money and other things
which used to be given by the devotees.
After a long struggle, the Supreme Court gave a verdict that if the government wants to
abolish the sh-ares to the priests, they should be given salaries as per the Pay Revision
Scales on the lines of junior assistant (archakas), senior assistant (second archakas)
and superintendent scale (main priest) in B and C grade temples and assistant
commissioner, deputy commissioner and regional joint commissio-ner scales to the
archakas for first and second categories and main priests respectively in ‘A’ Grade
temples.
The government immediately abolished the shares, but did not implement pay scale for
the priests. Later, the issues were reviewed by the several committees and discussions
were held.
The temples were divided into three grades: C Grade (Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh revenue
per annum), B Grade (Rs 3 lakh to Rs 25 lakh) and A Grade (`25 lakh and above). But,
the government did not pay the scales to C grade temple priests and they lost their
traditional shares.
“We have been demanding for the implementation of pay scales with hereditary rights. If
a priest wants to perform puja to a God at a temple, the entire family members and if
necessary, his relatives should also assist him from cleaning to completing the customs
and traditions in a day. If the government cancels the hereditary rights, the ent-ire family
would be affected,” AP State Archaka Samakhya organising secretary Peddireddy
Rambabu said.
He said that if the priests want to leave the temple, the temples may be closed and then
it would pose threat to Hindu tradition.
Samakhya state working president Sree Kantham Nandeeswar said the state
government issued a GO by appointing a committee for sorting out the issues and the
committee should submit its report as early as possible without making any delay as the
priests are struggling for livelihood.
Brides not willing to marry archaka boys
Due to miserable lives of archaka families and the state government’s discrimination
against them, many families are not coming forward to give their daughters in marriage
to priests.
Many men are not able to get marriages even when they cross 40 years due to non-
acceptability to the priest profession.
The priest families said that the girls prefer good academic qualifications or software
engineers.
“Generally, we don’t want to change our sub-sect for marriage matters. But, we are now
getting ready for this to allow marriages in families. But even then, girls are not willing to
marry a priest,” said a priest.
Archaka Samakhya state working president Sreekantham Nandeeswar said that even
when a youth studies Vedic Sciences and takes up the job of a Professor with high
salary in the US or abroad, girls have not shown interest.
He said that many parents of boys are getting ready to give dowry to the girl’s families
but in vain. The main reason is the government not doing justice to the priests and not
implementing service rules.
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சசசசசசசசசசசசசச சசசசசசசசச
25,000 சசசசச சசசசசசசசசச
சசசசசசசசச : சசச சசசசசசசச ₹19
சசசசசச சசசசசசசசச – சசசசச
சசசசசசசசசசசசசசச சசசசச!
by PRANESH RANGAN

August 26, 2018

in சசசசச சசசச

Image of 1000 year old Manampadi temple before its demolition a year back. Courtesy : REACH foundation
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ககககககககககககககக ககககககக கககககககக கககக கககககககக கககககக ககககககக ககககககக

கககககககக ககககக கககககககககக ககககககககக ககககக ககககக ககககககக ககககககக. கககக

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கககககககககக ககககககககககக ககககக 29-கககக ககககககககககக ககககக. கககக, கககக கககககக

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கககககககக ககககககக கககககககககக ககககக கககககக கககக. கககககககககககக ககககககக,

கககககககக கககக கககக ககககககககககக ககககககககககககக ககககக கககக ககககககககக.

ககககககககக ககககககககக கககககக ககககககககககககக ககககக ₹19 கககக ககககககக ககககக கக

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கககககககக ககககககககககககக.
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ககககககககககக ககககக ககக ககககககககககககக கககக கககககககககக கககககககககக கககககக

கககககககக, ககககக ககககககககக கககககககககக கககககககக ககககககககக கககககக

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கககககககககக ககககககக கககககககககககக கககககக கககக கககககககககககக ககககககக

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கககககககககககககககக கககககக கககககக கககககககககககக ககககக ககககககககக கககககக

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கககக ககககககககககக ககககக, கககககக ககககக ககககககககககககக ககககககககககககக கககககக

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கககககககககக கககக ககககககக ககககககக கககககக I.G. கககக ககககககககககக ககககககககக

ககககககக கககக ககககககக ககககககககக கக.கக.க-கககக ககககக ககககக ககககககககக “கககககக

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ககககக கககககககககக ககககககககககககக கககககக ககககக ககககககககககககக கககககக

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August 22, 2018

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கககககக கக.கக.க கககககக கககககக கககக. ககககககககககககக ககககககககககககக கககககககக

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கககககககககககககககககககககக.

ககக கககககககக கககக ககககககககககககக ககககககககக ககககககக,”கககககககககக கககககக

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கககககககக ககககககககக ககககககக கககக கககககககக? கககககககக ககககககககககககககககக

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Historically, the word archana or archaka came into

prominence much later. It is derived from the word archa
meaning to adore, worship, praise, sing, or salute with honor
and respect. Archana is the act of worship and archaka is the
worshipper. Archi means an emanation or a ray of light, or
flame. The Vedas frequently compare Brahman to the
immortal Sun. The immortal world of Brahman said to exist
in the Sun itself and those who achieve liberation travel by the
sun lit path of gods (devayana) to reach the immortal world
located in the Sun. Thus, if Brahman is the Sun, each deity as
an emanation of Brahman is compared to a ray of the sun
(archa), and the act of worshipping him is called archana.
An archaka is one who worships an arca, meaning an image of
God. In traditional Vaishnavism, an arca is a living
incarnation of God in image form. The arca itself may be
made of stone, wood, clay, gemstones, gold, silver, bronze, or
alloys, but will be treated as an embodiment of God.
Temple as an abode of God
In this sense, in Hinduism, a temple is not a mere place of
worship, but a sacred house where God resides. Since God
lives in the temple not as a mere statute, or an image, but as a
living and breathing entity, the temple administration has to
ensure through a host of priests and attendants that He is
served with great honor and treated respectfully like a king
from the time he wakes up in the early hours until he goes to
bed. If the particular aspect of God has a consort, family and
retinue, everyone in the group has to be given due honors. The
temple for all practical purposes is a universe in itself, or a
heaven, in which gods dwell and interact with humans at a
very personal and intimate level. Since the temple is a house
of God, in most temples the principal deity and his consort are
installed together and worshipped together. However, in rare
cases, where the deity is either unmarried, celibate, or
separated from his consort, he is worshipped alone. For
example, separate temples exist for Lord Venkateswara and
his consort Bhramaramba at Tirumala and Tirupathi
respectively since due to a marital conflict they live separately.
Arca, the living and breathing deity
As stated earlier, an arca is a living incarnation of God in
image form. Therefore, the expression idol worship in
Hinduism is a complete misnomer, used by some to degrade
the religion. Hindus do not worship mere stone or wooden
idols. They worship a living and breathing form of God who
lives inside the body that is made of stone, wood or other
material. Because of it, they are treated with utmost respect,
as if God is present personally to bless the devotees.
However, not all arcas are made equal. Their power and
eminence depend upon how long they are present on earth,
how they are installed and how many people offer them
regular worship. A deity's power increases in proportion to the
fervor of his or her devotees. If more people visit a temple and
frequently worship the deity, the arcas installed in that temple
gain more power and vigor from the offerings made and
develops the ability to fulfill the wishes of the worshippers. In
other words, although the same deity resides in several
temples, in each temple the deity has a different potency. If
they are regularly worshipped, they become active and
powerful, radiate positive energy, strengthen the roots of
dharma, and help more people to become spiritual and work
for their liberation. Therefore, it becomes the duty (dharma)
of every Hindu to visit temples and offer worship. In their
turn, the temples have to ensure that the deities are regularly
worshipped and more devotees are attracted to them, so that
the deity (arca) gains power and potency to fulfill their wishes.
It cannot happen, unless the worship is conducted by priests
who are well versed in the scriptures and who have a perfect
knowledge of the rituals and sacrificial ceremonies. With their
knowledge and prayers, they can keep the deities well
nourished and well attended.
The beginnings of temple worship
Temple worship in Hinduism was not an original Vedic
practice. Vedic priests performed sacrificial ceremonies and
daily practices, mostly in open places or in their homes. There
was no tradition of housing the gods in temples and worship
them. The tradition probably evolved overtime with the
integration of several indigenous cultures who might have
housed their gods and ancestors in special houses to protect
them from rain and wind, and became a full-fledged practice
in the post Buddhist period. The earliest temples were
probably built in honor of deceased kings, saintly people, or
sacred objects, by their successor and followers to discharge
their debt of gratitude. Subsequently the practice might have
been extended to honor the heavenly gods. Historians believe
that the earliest temples were temporary structures made of
wood, clay, reeds, etc. Hence, none of them survived.
Construction of stone temples gained momentum during the
post Mauryan era and reached its culmination in the Gupta
period. It is even possible that the tradition began in the
South during the reign of southern dynasties such as the
Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas and Satavahanas, and spread
northward. Since the earliest times, the Brahmins have been
the traditional choice for all forms of Vedic worship. When
temples became prominent in both north and south, they
became the natural choice to perform temple rituals.

Types of priests
The role of Archakas or Yajakas
As worshippers of God, the temple priests occupy an important position in
Hinduism. According to the scriptures a worshipping priest is a devotee of God
(yajaka evam madbhakta). He is verily a part of the body of God Himself
(machsariram hi yajaka). One should, therefore, treat with utmost respect any priest,
who offers prayers to God. Blaming him is equal to blaming God Himself. In
Vaishnavism an archaka is verily considered, without any doubt, Hari himself
(archakastu hari sakshat chara rupi na samsayah). We find a similar approach in
Saivism also. In terms of importance, the archakas occupy the foremost place in
society because by worshipping the deities properly as stipulated in the scriptures,
and keeping them happy, they prevent misfortune and calamities befalling upon
people and ensure peace, prosperity, and welfare of all in the towns and villages
where the temples are situated. The scriptures state that if priests worship deities
with pure intentions and great sincerity, it brings rich rewards to everyone. Hence,
the profession of archakas is considered the most important and sacred in the world.
A day in the life of a priest
Those who work in the temples as priests have to lead an austere and disciplined life.
They have to be well-versed in the scriptures and ritual knowledge. They cannot
succumb to any vice or evil. They have to be free from greed, anger, lust, envy and
other evils. A priest is a servant of God, who has only one mission in life, to take care
of the daily needs of the deity he worships. He has no other duty, because the deity
will be responsible for his personal life. Theoretically, for him the needs of God are
more important than his own needs. Having a good priest in your local temple, is a
blessing, because through his actions he can make a difference to a number of people
who visit the temple and pay their respects.

The relationship between the deity and his priest is very personal, deep and intimate.
Every priest has to be a Bhagavata, a servant-cum-devotee of the deities he worships.
He has to put his heart and soul into his service and worship God with utmost
devotion, but without any desire or expectations for himself. Every day, he is
expected to wake up early in the morning, take a bath, wear clean clothes, perform
his morning oblations, wear necessary marks upon his body according to the sect to
which he belongs, and begin the day with a stable mind. Then he should go to the
temple, to begin his daily service. At the temple, he should remove yesterday's
offerings, (flowers, etc.,) from the place of worship, sweep the floor in the sanctum or
the room where the deity is installed, and clean the tools and utensils used in the
worship.

After purifying the place and rearranging everything, he should wake up the deity
with a morning prayer and perform the morning archana (ritual) with the offerings
of light, incense, flowers, water, food, etc. As the day proceeds and devotees start
visiting the temple, he should perform various rituals according to their needs and
act as a mediator between the deity and his devotees. Depending upon the popularity
of the presiding deity, the rituals would continue throughout the day with some
resting period in between, during which the priest would attend upon deity as if he
or she were a living entity. At the end of the day, after serving the evening meal and
performing the evening rituals, he should make arrangements for the deity to take
rest by singing lullabies. Finally, when he is convinced that the deity is asleep, he
should close the door of the sanctum, secure everything, and return home to take
rest. This is the daily routine of a priest who works in a local temple where he
happens to be the main priest or the only priest. In busy temples, several priests
participate in these daily rituals and share their duties according to the instructions
of the head priest or the temple administration. Traditionally, the priests are also
entitled to their due share in the offerings made to the deity.

Since a priest is an intermediary between the deity and his devotees, he has to
strictly follow the wishes of the devotees in choosing the methods of worship or
making offerings. In most cases, the devotees bring their own offerings and request
the priests to perform worship according to their needs which involves recitation of
different prayers. A priest has to oblige them and fulfill their wishes. Many temples
also charge money from the devotees to perform specific rituals. When devotees are
present in large numbers, a priest has to ensure that each devotee gets a view of the
deity and a proper share in the offerings.
Types of rituals
The rituals that are performed in temples vary from deity to deity. However, they fall
into the following categories.

1. Daily rituals which are offered from morning to evening to serve the deity or
according to the wishes of the devotees. They usually involve recitations of Sanskrit
prayers and names of the deity.

2. Periodic rituals that are performed every week, fortnight, or month to

commemorate auspicious celestial or astronomical events. For example there are
certain rituals that are performed on every full moon day or new moon day and on
specific days in each month when the planets are aligned specifically. They are
meant to ensure the smooth progression, the order and regularity of the world.

3. Special worship is also offered to the deity on festive occasions, which may be
festivals that are particularly associated with the deity, such as a marriage
anniversary (kalyanam)the birth of a saint, or general Hindu festivals such as
Deepavali or Dussehra.

4. In case of 2 and 3, some temples may have the tradition of taking out the deity on
a procession and carry him through the street. On such occasions, the principal deity
along with attendant deities are placed in a chariot or a human carriage and taken
out in huge procession, through the streets, to the accompaniment of music and
dance. While it is customary for the devotees to visit the deity throughout the year
and seek his blessings, on such occasions, the deity pays a visit to his devotees to
express his love and see how they are doing. It denotes that the relationship between
God and His devotee is not a one-sided affair. It is mutual and God is as eager to see
his devotees as the devotees are. It is also meant to ensure that those who cannot
visit the temple due to age, any physical disability or personal problem are also not
ignored by Him.
Pachakas
While the archakas are responsible for the worship of the deity, they are assisted in
their duties by several others. Prominent among them are the pachakas, who are
mainly responsible for preparing traditional food items (naivedyam) that are used in
the offerings made to the deity. After offering to the deity, the remains are
distributed among the devotees. The people who are responsible for preparing and
cooking the food items also hail from the Brahmin families. In several ancient
temples, the right to cook food for God is hereditary and rests with a few families.
Food may be prepared either in the temple premises or outside. The pachakas have
to prepare the food in sattvic manner, using the purest of the ingredients that are
acceptable to the deity and maintain strict personal discipline as laid down in the
scriptures to avoid incurring his displeasure. In preparing the offerings, they have to
keep in mind that they cannot compromise on the quality or purity. Some of the
preparations are historically well known. For example, the sweet balls (laddus) and
other food items prepared by the Tirumala temple for Lord Venkateswara are world
famous.
Acharyas
Acharyas are Vedic scholars and spiritual teachers who are employed by the temple
for spreading religious awareness and speak about the significance of the temple and
its deities. They are responsible for reciting morning prayers, mantras, addressing
religious gatherings and narrate stories from the scriptures about legends and
anecdotes associated with the deities. They may work either on a part-time or full-
time basis. Many big temples also maintain their own publication division and offer
books and magazines to the devotes for fees.
Paricharikas
They are specially employed in big temples to perform menial work such as sweeping
the temples, cleaning the cooking utensils, booking reservations and accommodation
for the devotees, organizing events, making garlands, carrying food items, lighting
lamps, and protecting the temple property from vandalism.
Administration
As an abode of God, a temple is also an institution. Small temples can be managed by
a single priest and a small number of patrons. However, big temples require a more
organized and professional approach to manage the temple activities. Many ancient
temples of India are visited by millions of people every year from various parts of the
world. Their income and expenditure amount to millions of dollars. Hence, they are
managed by a huge body of government officials, trust members, security personnel,
priests, administrators, and others. In ancient times, temples were supported by
kings and local feudal lords with lands grants. In modern times, Government of
India appointed a special board to look after the temple administration and temple
lands in several states. Misuse of temple funds is not unknown. However, if people
are careful and pay attention, such problems can be avoided through collective
effort.
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