The controversy over who should be the heir of the Brahmam Gari Matham, the spiritual headquarters of the followers of Pothuluri Veera Brahmendra Swamy has been amicably solved. Venkatadri Swamy, the eldest son of Sri Veerabhoga Vasanta Venkateshwara Swamy, whose death necessitated the new appointment, would now be the head of the mutt.
The Mutt is an important spiritual-religious centre for the BC communities across the Telugu states and wields influence on them. The devotees are around two crore in both the Telugu states.
There was a dispute between the descendents of Vasantha Venkateshwara Swamy over who should be the head of the Mutt. Vasantha Venkateshwara Swamy has two wives. Venkatadri Swamy is the eldest son of the first wife. Vasantha Venkateshwara Swamy had two sons from the second wife Mahalakshmamma. Since both the sons were minors, she said she would head the Mutt as Matru Sri till her eldest son would become a major and then anoint him.
Meanwhile, Venkatadri Swamy’s younger brother Veerabhadra Swamy too claimed ownership of this Peetham. This complicated the issue further. Some Saivaite Sadhus and Swamys tried to intervene on behalf one of the three claimants. Finally, the State Government moved in and held discussions with all the stakeholders. Finally, local MLA Raghuram Reddy too intervened and arrived at a consensus.
Accordingly, Veerabhadra Swamy would be the chief seer of the Mutt, while his brother Veerabhadra Swamy would officiate as the deputy seer. Mahalakshmamma’s son would become the heir after Veerabhadra Swamy. An official announcement is expected soon.
