| Tirumala Venkateswara Temple | |
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| Name: | Tirumala Venkateswara Temple |
| Date built: | Earliest records date to 300 A.D (probable) |
| Primary deity: | Lord Venkateswara |
| Location: | Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh |
| Coordinates: | 13°40′59″N 79°20′49″E / 13.68306°N 79.34694°ECoordinates: 13°40′59″N 79°20′49″E / 13.68306°N 79.34694°E |
The temple is the richest and the most visited place of worship in the world. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily, while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it one of the most visited holy place in the world.
According to the legend, the temple has a self-manifested idol murti of Lord Vishnu, with the Lord believed to have resided here for the entire Kali Yuga. In Sri Vaishnava tradition, the temple is considered one of the 108 Divya Desam sites.
The temple and the hill:
The Tirumala Hill is 3200 ft above sea level, and is about 10.33 sq miles in area. It comprises seven peaks, representing the seven hoods of Adisesha, thus earning the name, Seshachalam. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, NarayanadriVenkatadri. The sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara is located on the seventh peak, Venkatadri (Venkata Hill), and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini. The temple complex comprises a smaller traditional temple building along with a number of modern queue and pilgrim lodging sites. There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the Lord in Tirumala.
The varied names ascribed to the main deity are Balaji, Srinivasa, Perumal, Venkateswara and Venkatachalapathy. The goddess Sri or Lakshmi (Vishnu's consort) resides on the chest of Venkateswara, and thus he is also known by the epithet Srinivasa (the one in whom Sri resides). Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Padmavathi reside on his either chests. The deity is considered the Kali yuga varada, that is 'the boon-granting Lord of Kali yuga' (the fourth and final age of the Hindu cycle of ages). The temple is held in particular reverence by the Vaishnava sect of southern India, known as the Sri Vaishnava.
For worshippers, the deity Venkateswara symbolises goodness. When people travel to Tirupati, they chant "Yedu Kondala Vada Venkataramana Govinda Govindaa" (in Telugu)or "Yezhu Malai Vaasa Venkataramana Govinda Govindaa" (in Tamil) or "Tirupati Thimmappana Padakke Govinda" (in Kannada).
With his conch he creates the cosmic sound from which the creation has manifested.And with his disc he destroys ignorance and ego in the beings,thus liberating them. Lord Venkateswara is believed by followers to be a very merciful deity form of Vishnu, being the fulfiller of every wish made to him by the devotees.
The Holy mantra chanted is Om Namo Venkateshaya. "The Venkateswara Suprabhatam", the morning recital of prayers and songs of awakening, is written by Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan of Kanchipuram. Several composers composed beautiful kirtanas about Lord Venkateswara, the most notable amongst them being Tyagaraja and Annamacharya, who composed mostly in Telugu. Annamacharya or Annamayya is a legendary devotee of Lord Venkateswara and composed songs almost exclusively about the deity.
Legend:
Sri Venkatachala Mahatmyam is the most accepted legend with respect to Tirumala and provides the history of the temple across the various yugas. Of the other legends, the following are most known:
- Ranganathaswamy at Srirangam (the main deity) is believed to have manifested on its own without any human endeavour (Swayambhu)
- Discovery of the Venkateswara deity is described as an act of divine providence: there was a huge anthill at Tirupati, and one day a local farmer heard a voice from the heavens asking him to feed the ants. By chance the local king heard the voice and began supplying milk for the ants himself. His compassion resulted in the liquid uncovering the magnificent deity form of Venkateswara hidden beneath the anthill.
The origins of the site are legendary . Its beginnings are shrouded in great antiquity and its origins are still a matter of scholarly debate. Srivaishnavite experts opine that the Rig Veda. One such translation goes as "
| “ | The person, devoid of wealth and vision, is implored to go to the hill which burns up all evil (vikata for Venkata) and drives away all obstacles to peace and prosperity. The call of the rishi Sirimbitha has obviously not gone in vain. | ” |
Thondaiman, ruler of the ancient Thondaimandalam (present day Kanchipuram) (capital: Kanchipuram, just south of modern day Chennai), is believed to have first built the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in his dream. He built the Gopuram and the Prakhara, and arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in the temple. Later on the Chola dynasty vastly improved the temple and gave rich endowments. To date, you will find the various Tamil Grantha script within the Temple prakara walls. The Sangam literature of Tamil such as that of Silapadikaram and Satanar Manimekalai, dated between 500BC and 300AD, mentions Thiruvengadam (now named Tirupati) by the appellation "Nediyon Kunram" as the northernmost frontier of the Tamil kingdoms . In fact, a fairly detailed description of the deity is given in lines 41 to 51 of book 11 of the Silapadikaram. Again, appellation "Nediyon" for the deity occurs in these verses:
| “ | High on Vengadam's towering crest, with flowing streams in flood, Betwixt the effulgent glory, of shining Sun and Moon, Like unto a blue cloud in lightning dresst In all the brilliance of rainbow dight, The Red-eyed great One, majestic stands In dress of flowery brilliance with garland bright, One lotus hand with fearsome disc adorned, and milk white conch (the other held.) | ” |
Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions of Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. The region of Andhra in which Tirupati is located in was already known for the existence of ancient Buddhist sites of the Satavahana era, namely Nagarjunakonda and Amravati, thus scholars suggest that the ancient site of Tirupati was probably a buddhist site prior to its transformation into a Hindu one after Buddhism saw its decline in the face of Guptan Hindu Rennaissance . Even up to the time of Ramanuja, the famous Vaishnava scholar of the 12th century, the identity of the deity was still disputed until Ramanuja confirmed it to be Vishnu.
There is also the Ranga Mandapam, which is to the left side of the temple as we enter. This is where the main deity "Sri Ranganatha Swamy" of SriRangam Temple (Trichy) was protected, for a period of almost 60 years, during attacks by Malik Kafur in the 14th Century
Medieval history:TTD is operated by a Board of Trustees has increased in size through adoption of various Acts from five (1951) to fifteen (1987). The daily operation and management of TTD is the responsibility of Executive Officer (EO) who is appointed by the AP government.
Traditionally Kurubas build temples on top of the mountains and worshiped the Almighty. Lord Venkateswara has strong following from the Backward Castes, who are traditionally ShivaDalit following also.
The temple brings around 60,000 pilgrims every day. The popularity of the temple can be judged by the annual budget which was estimated at Rs 10 billion in 2008 with almost everything coming directly from donations. Devotees give donations which runs into millions. TTD, the organisation running the welfare of the temple, runs various charitable trusts whose funds are derived from the budget and donations from the devotees.
Prasadam:
Laddu is the world famous prasadam given at Tirumala Temple. recently the Trust has taken copy right of Laddu prasaddam, hence, no one can prepare the same Laddu. Many other delicious prasadams are also available including curd rice, pulihora (tamarind rice), vada and chakkera-pongali (sweet pongal). Free meals are given daily to the pilgrims, and on Thursdays, the Tirupavadai seva occurs, where food items are kept for naivedyam to Lord Srinivasa.
Hair tonsuring:
Many devotees also have their head tonsured as an offer. The daily amount of hair collected is over a ton. The hair thus gathered is sold by the temple organization a few times a year by public auction to international buyers for use as hair extensions and in cosmetics,Media:bringing over $6 mln to the temple's Media:treasury.As per puranas hair given by devotees is to coverup the lost hair(it is a very small portion) of lord venkateshwara swamy
Festivals:
The town celebrates most Vaishnava festivals including Vaikunta Ekadasi, Rama Navami and Janmashtami with great splendor, while the Brahmotsavam celebrated every year during September is the most important festivals in Tirumala, when it receives millions of devotees over a short span of a week. Other major festivals include Vasanthotsavam (spring festival) conducted during March-April and Rathasapthami (Magha Shuddha Saptami) is another festival, celebrated during February, when Lord Venkateswara's deity is taken on procession around the temple chariots.
Related temples:
Tirupati is one of the 108 holy temples in Vaishnavite system and is related to a number of other temples, including the ones in Uppiliappan temple, near Kumbakonam and VaragurTrichi are considered to be the "divine brothers" of Lord Venkateswara.
This temple was built by ancient Tamil King"Thondaman". Ancient Hindu kings were extremely devout and patronised the arts. This temple at Thirupathi was part of a big plan. The ancient vaishnavaites did not want their religion to fade out with time. They built many temples across south India, mostly in ancient Tamil kingdoms. These temples collectively became known as the Divyadesams. These temples are acclaimed for their historical and architectural significance. Encouraged by the Vaishnavaite saints and scholars, ancient kings built, maintained and donated large sums of money for the upkeep of these temples.
Traditionally Kurubas build temples on top of the mountains and worshiped the Almighty. Lord Venkateswara has strong following from the Backward Castes, who are traditionally Shiva worshipers in south India. Lord Venkateswara has a significant Dalit following also.is a Govindaraya Vishnu temple in the Tirupati town down below the hills with Vishnu in Yoga Nidra with Sridevi and Bhumidevi next to him.
Most of these temples that are related to Tirupathi are found in and around the post-independence state of Tamil Nadu (and a few in Kerala, Karanataka and North India/Nepal as well). If you are in Chennai, the related temples that you can visit in a matter of two - three days would be:
- Veera Raghava Swamy temple - Thiruvallur - About 30 minutes from Chennai.
- Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple, Ramapuram, Chennai
- Bhakta Vatsala Perumal Temple - Thiruninravur - About 45 Minutes from Chennai.
- ThirupputKuzhi - Midway from Chennai to Vellore, this temple can be seen by the side of the highway. It is the site where Lord Rama finds dying Jetaayu, after its battle with Ravana to rescue Sita.
- Neervanna Perumal temple - Thiruneermalai village, near Pallavaram, in Chennai.
- Nithya Kalyana Perumal Temple - Thiru-ida-venthai (Thiruvidandai) - Kovalam, 30 minutes from Thiruvanmiyur bus stand in Chennai .
- Thiruvallikeni (Parthasarathy Temple) - "Triplicane" - located in the city of Chennai.
- Thirukadalmallai - Sthalasayana Perumal Temple, Mahabalipuram, about 1.5 hours from Chennai.
- Thirukkadigai - Sholingur, near Arakkonam, about an hour and a half from both Chennai and Tirupati.
In the Divyadesams page is a detailed list of these 108 temples.
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