THE GODS GO GREEN

A BACK-TO-NATURE STRATEGY COUPLED WITH THE USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY IS MAKING THE TIRUMALA TEMPLE A TRENDSETTER

- Amarnath K. Menon

The world’s richest Hindu shrine is going organic. The hilltop Sri Venkat­ eswara temple is now using indigen­ ous cow products and produce from chemical­free natural farming for all its sacred rituals. Be it the butter used for lighting the lamps or the mix for its famous laddoo prasadam, everything comes via the organic route.

Temple custodian Tirumala Tirupati Dev­ asthanams (TTD) says it is tapping technology to process the 950 kg of flowers offered every day—they are dried and recycled as incense sticks and other value­added products. This is apart from the spinoff for ayurvedic products developed from panchagavvya, using cow dung, urine, milk, curd and ghee.

Indeed, the desi cow is the centrepiece of the TTD initiative. The temple management has expanded its dairy farm and started the Nava­ neeta Seva—an offering of butter produced by traditional churning of curd prepared from desi cow milk from their gaushalas (cow shelters).

The 60 kg of butter used for naivedyam (food consecrated for the deity) and as oil for the temple lamps daily also comes from the