Ancient Saint Brahmamgari’s House Collapses Due to Rain

Anantapur: Sri Madvirat Potuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy’s historic residence, built in the 17th Century and located in the premises of Brahmamgari Matham in Kadapa district, collapsed following heavy rains due to Cyclone Monthra on Tuesday night.The saint, like Nostradamus, is credited with writings that forecast many of the happenings even after he passed away.Locals and devotees of Veerabrahmendra Swamy are upset with the district authorities and members of the Brahmamgari family for not paying attention, even though the condition of the house had been deteriorating over the years.Sri Veerabrahmendra Swamy lived between 1608 and 1693. He entered Sajeeva Samadhi (getting buried while alive) in 1693.Two successors of Veerabrahmendra Swamy are vying for the post of Peethadhipati for the past four and a half years. Devotees say this led to deficiency in maintenance of the Matham to which devotees come for darshan from various parts of south India.Significantly, following the directives of the AP High Court, the Dharma Prachara Parishad conducted a meeting on Tuesday in the matham premises to collect opinions from devotees for the selection of the 12th successor of Sri Madvirat Potuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy. The meeting went on till night. Authorities received about 1,600 representations and opinions of devotees over the selection of Peethadhipati.The residence of Veerabrahmendra Swamy collapsed the same night.Matham authorities said in fact Bengaluru-based devotees had come forward to re-build the house. In this regard, a representation had also been made to the engineering section of the Endowments department.Reacting to the collapse, IT minister Nara Lokesh asked Kadapa collector to take urgent steps to restore the ancestral house of Sri Veerabrahmendra Swamy and safeguard its cultural heritage.