Varadachariar, J.

1. These appeals arise out of disputes between certain archakas of the Tiruchanur Temple and Sri Mahant of Tirupathi as the Vicharanakartha of the said temple. To follow the evidence and appreciate the contentions in the case a preliminary narrative may be helpful.

2. The Tiruchanur Temple has long been associated not merely in the popular mind but also in respect of its management with the temples at Tirumalai (on the hills), and Tirupathi (at the foot), and all the three and a number of other temples in the neighbourhood have generally come to be known as the Tirumalai Tirupathi, etc., Devasthanams. When the Government divested themselves of the management of Hindu Temples, this group was handed over to the then Mahant of the Hatiramji Mutt at Tirupathi, and they have ever since continued under a common management.

3. In the Tiruchanur temple the principal shrine is that of the Goddess Sri Padmavathi(referred to as Thayar or Amrnavaru). But in the same temple there has long been also c a shrine of Sri Krishna. The Archaka miras in the Padmavathi shrine is admittedly hereditary, and in the course of the proceedings in the Court below, it was practically admi