Andhra Pradesh Endowments Department
Government department · Vijayawada region, Andhra Pradesh (Commissionerate of Endowments; approx.)
The Endowments Department is the Andhra Pradesh government arm that supervises Hindu religious and charitable institutions under the 1987 Endowments Act. Institutions are graded by annual income: the largest (Section 6(a)) such as Srisailam, Vijayawada Kanaka Durga, Simhachalam, Annavaram and Srikalahasti are run as devasthanams with their own trust boards and Executive Officers, while thousands of small village temples are supervised by district officials. TTD is legally separate and is not counted in the department's figures. For pilgrims it matters because darshan tickets, sevas, rooms, tonsure and prasadam at almost every major AP temple outside Tirumala are sold through the department's common online system.
How it is run
Part of the Revenue (Endowments) Department under the state Endowments Minister; a Commissioner of Endowments supervises all institutions through regional and district officers. Major temples (Section 6(a)) get government-appointed trust boards and an Executive Officer; smaller ones are run by EOs or the department directly.
Tips for pilgrims
- Book darshan, sevas and rooms at Srisailam, Kanaka Durga, Simhachalam, Annavaram, Srikalahasti and other major temples on aptemples.ap.gov.in, or via the state's Mana Mitra WhatsApp service (9552300009).
- Keep a government photo ID for online bookings and room check-in; festival-day (Dasara, Sivaratri) tickets sell out fast and some sevas are suspended on peak days.
- Each devasthanam has its own Executive Officer's office on site for complaints, donations and lost property.
Temples it runs
- Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Varla Devasthanam – Srisailam, Nandyal district
- Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (Kanaka Durga Temple) – Indrakeeladri, Vijayawada
- Ahobilam Nava Narasimha Kshetram – Ahobilam, Nandyal district
- Sri Amaralingeswara Swamy Temple (Amararama) – Amaravathi, Palnadu district
- Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple (Draksharama) – Draksharamam, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district
- Sri Kalahasteeswara Swamy Devasthanam – Srikalahasti, Tirupati district
- Sri Ksheera Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple (Ksheerarama) – Palakollu, West Godavari district
- Sri Kumararama Bhimeswara Swamy Temple (Kumararama) – Samalkot, Kakinada district
- Sri Kurmanatha Swamy Temple – Srikurmam, Srikakulam district
- Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple – Antarvedi, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district
- Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple – Kadiri, Sri Sathya Sai district
- Sri Mahanandeeswara Swamy Temple – Mahanandi, Nandyal district
- Sri Panakala Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple – Mangalagiri, Guntur district
- Sri Penusila Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple – Penchalakona, Nellore district
- Sri Someswara Janardhana Swamy Temple (Somarama) – Gunupudi, Bhimavaram
- Sri Subrahmanya Swamy Temple – Mopidevi, Krishna district
- Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Temple – Arasavalli, Srikakulam
- Sri Trikoteswara Swamy Temple – Kotappakonda, Palnadu district
- Sri Uma Maheswara Swamy Temple – Yaganti, Nandyal district
- Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam – Simhachalam, Visakhapatnam
- Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka Swamy Devasthanam – Kanipakam, Chittoor district
- Sri Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Swamy Devasthanam – Annavaram, Kakinada district
- Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devasthanam – Dwaraka Tirumala, Eluru district