CHAPTER ll

HISTORY OF TlRUMALA TlRUPATl TEMPLES

11. HISTORY OF TIRUMALA TIRUPATI TEMPLES

T h e h i s t o r i c a l T i ruma la Venkateswara t emp le i s

well known i n I n d i a . M i l l i o n s o f d e v o t e e s f l o c k t o t h e

s a c r e d p l a c e a l l t h r o u g h t h e y e a r . "Every day i s a f e s t i v a l

day a t T i r u r n a l a " ~ which is f i l l e d w i th c o l o u r f u l 'u tchavarns '

t o t h e Lordl who is b e l i e v e d t o be t h e l i v i n g God on t h e

e a r t h . The t o p o f t h e ill where t h e Lord s t a n d s i n a l l

g l o r y i a a b o u t 2000 f t . h i g h a m i d s t t h e c l u s t e r of Seven

Hills as a p a r t o f Mount Meru. According t o l e g e n d l t h e

Seven Hills a r e s a i d t o r e p r e s e n t t h e hood of t h e King o f

s e r p e n t s - Adisesha . The Hindu concep t ion r e g a r d i n g t h e

c h a i n o f t h e s e H i l l s is t h a t t h e y d e p i c t t h e body o f t h e

s e r p e n t Adisesha , on which r e e t a t h e God Vishnu, t h e

p r o t e c t o r o f t h e wor ld . The Seven H i l l s of t h e s a c r e d r e g i o n

a r e b e l i e v e d t o r e p r e s e n t t h e heads o f Adisesha t t h e c e n t r e

o f s e r p e n t i n e body b e i n g t h e s e a t o f Narasimhal and t h e

t a i l - e n d of t h e abode o f M a l l i k a r j u n a of ~ r i s a i l a . The

b e g i n n i n g , t h e midd l e and t h e end o f t h e v a s t c r e a t i o n ,

p r e s i d e d o v e r r e s p e c t i v e l y by t h e T r i n i t y - Brahmal Vishnu l

and S i v a l and t h a t t h e S e r p e n t w i t h it's s e v e r a l c o i l s is

s a i d t o d e n o t e l imi t less time i n a cosmic c o n c e p t i o n .

Andhra Pradesh is t h e ' f o u r t h l a r g e s t s t a t e i n

I n d i a . I t haa a p o p u l a t i o n o f 6 ,63 ,041854 a p p r o x i m a t e l y

c o v e r i n g an a r e a of 2175,068 s q u a r e k i l o meters.

~ h y s i o g r a p h i c a l l y T i r u p a t i - r i r u m a l a a r e s i t u a t e d i n t h e

d i s t r i c t of hitt to or^ Andhra P r a d e s h , i n t h e S o u t h e r n r e g i o n

o f 1 n d i a . A c t u a l l y T i ruma la is s i t u a t e d a m i d s t p i c t u r e s q u e

s u r r o u n d i n g s o f t h e t o p o f 860 metre h igh s p r a w l i n g s e v e n

h i l l s o f t h e Lord. On t h e Hills t h e Lords t emp le is l o c a t e d

c o n s t r u c t e d and l a t e r deve loped by v a r i o u s g e n e r a t i o n s of

Royal d e v o t e e s and commoners. T h i s t emple i s o n e of t h e

s a c r e d l a n c i e n t and o u t s t a n d i n g t emp le s i n s o u t h I n d i a . The

name of t h e d e i t y is S r i Lord Venkateswara. The d e i t y is

c a l l e d i n South Tndia ae S r i n i v a s , i n t h e s t a t e o f Andhra

P radesh a s 'Yedu Kondala Venkateswara" and i n t h e Nor th a s

B a l a j i . The Bea t of Lord Venkateswara i . e . , t h e d e i t y of t h e

Great t r a d i t i o n s of Hinduisml h a s n a t u r a l l y made T i r u p a t i - a g r e a t r e l i g i o u s impor t ance f o r a l l t h e p e o p l e i n o u r

c o u n t r y on g e n e r a l and p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r ~ i n d u s . Lord

Venkateswara is known f o r h i s s u r e and immediate r e s p o n s e t o

t h e P r a y e r s of h i s d e v o t e e a and t h i s a c c o u n t s f o r t h e

t h o u s a n d s of p e o p l e v i s i t i n g t h e Lord t h roughou t t h e year

from a11 o v e r I n d i a . Even t h e h i l l s and f o r e s t s amidst which

t h e L o r d ' s t e m p l e h a s s t o o d have been deemed p a r t i c u l a r l y

S a c r e d and Holy. No o t h e r Sou th 1 n d i a Temple h a s a t t r a c t e d

s o many p i l g r i m s o r h a s been more o p u l e n t .

The H i l l on which t h e a l l - p o w e r f u l Venkateswara

t emp le is l o c a t e d is su r rounded by s e v e r a l h i l l s a t a n

a l t i t u d e l n o r t h : 3626 ft. h i g h l e a s t : 2750 f t . h igh1 s o u t h :

2920 t . and sou th -ea s t : 3620 f t . h igh . T h e r e is no

e v i d e n c e t o show when and by whom t h e famous Venkateawara

t emp le h a s been b u i l t . Even t h e a r c h i t e c t u r e af t h e t emp le

s t r u c t u r e d o e s n o t o f f e r any c l u e t o t h e o r i g i n as it was

b e l i e v e d t o be r e c o n s t r u c t e d i n t h e t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r y .

The O r i g i n of Lord Venkateswara Temple

The T i ruma la H i l l s l a c c o r d i n g t o t h e P u r a n a s ~ are

one p a r t o f Mount Meru, and q u i t e d e a r t o Lord Vishnu l t h e

supreme D e i t y l and s a i d t o be a s p o r t i n g p l a c e o f t h e Lord

i n va ikuntapuram. The Lord was brought t o t h e e a r t h by h i e

vahana ( v e h i c l e ) Garuda. Tho peak o r i g i n a l l y was c a l l e d

'Ananda' t h e r e s t i n g p l a c e o f Lord Vishnu. A f i g h t between

Adisesha and Vayu broke o u t , and c o n s e q u e n t l y t h e g r e a t

mountain b roke u p and f e l l on t h e e a r t h . A l a t e r v e r s i o n

b r i n g s o u t t h a t t h e Lord Seshu p r e v e n t e d Vayul t h e God o f

windal from e n t e r i n g vaikuntam. Both Vayu and Seeha a rgued

u n t i l Vishnu i n t e r v e n e d . Seaha appea red t o have b o a s t e d t h a t

he was s t r o n g and t h a t Vayu was n o t e q u a l t o him i n s t r e n g t h

and v i g o u r . The Lord Vishnu s a i d t o himl " L e t t h e r e be a

c o n t e s t . I s h a l l judge; c o i l y o u r s e l f round t h e peak o f

Ananda which is a n o f f s p r i n g of Meru; c o i l among t h e peak

w i t h t h e s t r e n g t h . Vayu s h a l l t h e n t r y t o d i s l o d g e you from

the ill".' Vayu then fiercely moved with the result that

the inhabitants of the three worlds became greatly

distressed. SO they approached Adiaesha and represented to

him that the immediate reaction of their power was

disastrous to all others. To mitigate the problem they

requested Adisesha, the more amiable of the two to just lift

one of his thousand hoods for a second. As a result, a

portion of Meru was blown away, a bit reaching the earth in

Tirumala hills1 and assumed the name '~eehachalam' since

then. 2

Lord Vishnul according to the first versionl

appeared in the form of Boar (Varaha)# and manifested

Himself on the bank of the holy Pushkarini in Divya Vimanam

on the Hill of Venkatachalam. The Puranas reveal that at the

request of Brahma and others1 the Lord took his present form

at the end of Dwaparayuga in his infinite grace and Love

towards the weak and sinning people on the earth. The

celestials including Brahma are said to worship the Lord at

Tirumala at Nityasuriesl invisible to the eyes of the

mortals.

1. - Sri Venkateswara, P.Sitapathil p.83.

2. History of Tirupati, (V01.l)l Sri T.K.T.Veeraragavachary1 pp .31-32-

Legends and B e l i e f s

Bhavishya Purana mentions how t h e Lord ' s i d o l was

discovered by t h e then ruler, Tondaiman, i n an a n t - h i l l

under a tamarind t r e e on t h e bank of t h e Swami ~ u s h k a r i n i ,

Th i s a l s o suppor t s t h e legend a s soc i a t ed with the

cons t ruc t i on of t h e first temple of t h e Lord i n Kaliyuga.

After t h i s i n c i d e n t , ~ i n g ~onda iman who came t o worship t h e

Lord Venkateswara a t Tirumala was commanded by H i m , and

s a i d r "1 have become a house-holder. I t is not proper t h a t I

should be homeless. Const ruc t a temple f o r me. The c r e d i t

f o r t h i s s h a l l be t h i n e " . 3

Then t h e r u l e r Tondiman took an oa th t h a t he

should obey Hi8 orde r s . Following i t , Lord Venkateswara and

H ~ S consor t Padmavathi Devi s e l e c t e d t h e p l ace for t h e

temple on t h e sou thern side of swami Pushkar in i tank on

Tirumala Hills. The Lord d e s i r e d t h a t t h e temple should have

two gopurams, a dwaja stambham, t h r e e prakarams, eeven

doors , mantapams f o r Yoga and Asthanas, a shed f o r c a t t l e

house f o r s t o r i n g g r a i n , o i l , ghee and households f o r

d in ing , decora t ion and ornaments. I n accordance with h i s

vow, Tondaiman cons t ruc ted a good temple f o r Cord

Venkateswara a s d i r e c t e d , and it was studded with prec ious

gemsr and a spendid-looking vimanam. The Lord g l a d l y

3. -- Fairs and ~ e s t i v a l e - i n C h i t t o o r D i s t r i c t , Andhra Pradeeh.

a c c e p t e d t h e Ananda N i t y a Vimanam a s His r e s i d e n c e a t

T i rumala .

Another P u r a n i c c o n c e p t r e v e a l s t h a t t h e T i ruma la

ills a l o n g w i t h t h e Hills of Ahobilam and t h e r a n g e o f

a ills a t S r i s a i l a m form t h e body o f h d i s e s h a . G e o g r a p h i c a l l y

i t is a known f a c t t h a t t h e s e B i l l s g i v e t h e appea rance o f a

cobra w i t h i t s hood r a i s e d l ba sk ing i n t h e open aun. T h e

Seven Hills r e p r e s e n t e d t h e Seven Hoode of ~ d i e e s h a and t h e

Lord as Kalingamardhana! ~ r i s h n a who is presumed t o dance on

t h e ~ d i s e s h a r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e rythm i n t h e limitless cosmos.

Another v e r s i o n t e l l s t h e s t o r y t h a t i n t h e e a r l y

p e r i o d s o f ~ a l i y u g a i n K a l a h a s t i , t h e r e l i v e d a p i o u s and

l e a r n e d Brahmin named Purandara Somayaj i . A f t e r pe r fo rming

penance , he was b l e s s e d w i t h a mlae c h i l d named Madhavat who

u n l i k e h i s l e a r n e d f a t h e r was l u s t f u l . He t o o k a f a n c y f o r a

c h a n d a l a woman. He gave up a l l c a s t e r u l e s and l i v e d w i t h

h e r h a p p i l y f o r a p e r i o d of t w e l v e y e a r s on the banks o f

Kr i shna . S u b s e q u e n t l y r he became c r a z y 1 roamed a b o u t , and

fo l l owed a p a r t y of k i n g s , on a p i l g r i m a g e t o T i rumala .

Cl imbing t h e H i l l l he s t o o d a l o n g w i t h o t h e r s i n f r o n t of

t h e t emple . A h o r r i b l e s t a n c e b rought a l l t h e Devas from

heaven t o e a r t h t o d i s c o v e r t h e r e a s o n . Sudden ly l t h e r e s h o t

up a f i r e enveloping h i s body and b u r n t a l l h i s s i n s . From

t h e n , t h e h i l l came t o be c a l l e d ' ~ e n k a t a c h a l a ' meaning t h e

Hill which burnt away all sins. It was believed that Madhava

would be reborn aa the illegitimate son of Chola King to be

ruled over the region of Tondamandalam. Later, the Hill

assumed several namesr and most of them proved quite

significant, such as 'Se~hachala~~ '~arudachala'

Venkatadri', 'NarayanadritI 'Vri~habhadril~ l~eshadril,

'Anjanadri't 'Varahadril. These are found in the following

Suprabhata version of the Lord1 recited in the morning hours

every day Tirumala Hillst as the waking recital for Lord

Venkateswara.

SRI SESHA SAILA GARUDACHALA VENKATADRI, NARAYANADRI, VRUSHABHADRI, VRUSHADRI, MUKHYAM, RKHYAM TWEDEYA VASATVAMISAM VADANTSE SRI VENKATACHALAPATHE TAWA SUPRABHATAM. .4 so goes.

The earliest mention of Lord Venkateswara's shrine

was made in ~holkappiarn~~ a work of the second century B.C.

out of twelve Alwars of Sri ~aishnavas~ ten of them had

gloriously hymned the Lord Venkateswara.

Etymologicallyr the term Lord venkateswara means

both 'venkatal and '~swara' that isr Venkata denoting

vishnu, and Eswara ~iva. Thusr the term reveals the

traditions of both ~aishnavisrn and ~haivisrn. Generally, Sri

Vaishnavas hold that the Lord is exclusively ~ishnut while

4. Suprabhatam version. 5. Reference in Tholkappiam.

S h a i v i t e s who c o n s i d e r t h e Lord a s t h e i r d e i t y Lord S i v a t o

h o l d i n e q u a l and s i m i l a r r e g a r d t h a t He is Lord S iva . Some

d e v o t e e s f i r m l y b e l i e v e t h a t t h e d e i t y is ~ d i p a r a s a k t h i .

Some of them c o n s i d e r t h a t t h e Lord is t h e un ion or a

combina t ion o f t h e e l e m e n t s of Vishnu and s i v a . It i s i n

f a c t ' Hari-Hara M u r t i l . From t h e s e v i ew-po in t s ,

e t y m o l o g i c a l l y r t h e term 'Har i -Hara ' d e n o t e s t h e two d e i t i e s

of Lord Vishnu and S i v a . That is , ~ a r i meaning Vishnu, and

Hara , S i v a . Thus , o u t of t h e combinat ion of these two terms

'Har i -Hara ' . f i n a l l y h a s emerged t h e term 'Venka t e swara ' .

The o r i g i n o f t h e t emp le a t Ti rumala seemed v a r i e d

i n ~ h a r a c t e r . ~ The b a s i c p o i n t is t h a t Lord v i shnu came t o

r e s i d e i n t h e Seven Hills f o r which an o c c a s i o n and a

meaningful c a u s e have t o be unders tood t h rough t h e s t o r y o f

t h e S a i n t B r i g h u 1 s i n v e s t i g a t i o n to d i s c o v e r t h e supreme

Godt a s n a r r a t e d below:

Once upon a time, t h e Sap tha m a h a r i s h i e s A t r i ,

Kasyapha, Bharadwaja, ~ i s w a m i t r a , Gowtamat V a t i s h t a ,

Jamadagni, and o t h e r s t performed Yaga t o promote p l a c e i n t h e

c o u n t r y . But, j u s t b e f o r e o f f e r i n g t h e ' H a r i e l t o Devandrat

t h e g r e a t s a i n t Bhrugu was a sked to d i s c o v e r t h e most

p a t i e n t God among t h e t h r e e m u r t i e s , i . e . Brahma, S i v a , and

6. According t o P u r a n i c T r a d i t i o n , t h e o r i g i n o f Venkateswara t emple is v a r i e d i n c h a r a c t e r .

28

Vishnu, and which of the three manifestations was really the

supreme. There is no doubt that the Supreme is only onel but

He manifests ~imself in three forms as Sattarat Rajasat and

Tlamasa~ dominating in each case, and discharging the

essential functions of creation1 protection, and destruction

respectively. Each of these functions has been assigned to

each one of the three deities, Brahma in charge of all

creations, Vishnu, looking after all creations with the

dominating character of Sattara~ i.e.l the Strength.

Finally, Sival who is deputed to the function of

destruction, his quality being Thamasa. But a t the back of

all these classifications, there is the notion which makes

all the three except the manifestations of the one, each one

of the three being regarded as the Supreme. In this matter

of unity, there is the possibility of two classea - those

who make Siva the Supreme Deity, and those who make vishnul

the Supremel Brahma often not appearing. It is this

integrity and unity in type that formed the main contention

of the discussion of these wise men. But they found good and

important causes for regarding each one of these deities as

the main and Supreme Deity, and unable to decide once for

all.

So Maharishi Bhrugu, the most dominant and the

wisest figure among the saints, was commissioned to on a

pilgrimage to various abodes of these deities to personally

d i s c o v e r t h e Supreme d e i t y t h r o u g h h i s p e r s o n a l o b s e r v a t i o n .

Acco rd ing ly , Bhrugu f i r s t v i s i t e d t h e abode o f Brahma i n

S a t y a Loka, o t h e r w i s e cal led Brahma Loka. Brahma was i n f u l l

a s sembly , and He t r e a t e d t h e g u e s t , B h r u g u ~ w i t h a l l

r e s p e c t , b u t w i t h o u t d u e fo rms of welcome, p e r h a p s r e a l i s i n g

t h e pu rpose of h i s v i s i t . ~ a k s h r n i , c o n s i d e r i n g t h e i n c i d e n t

as i n e x c u s s a b l e , l e f t Va ikun ta t o do penance on t h e e a r t h .

S a i n t Bhrugu r e t u r n e d and r e p o r t e d what had t a k e n p l a c e i n

t h e abodea h e v i s i t e d . On t h e b a s i s of h i s r e p o r t , all v o t e d

i n f a v o u r o f Lord Vishnu as t h e Supreme God.

T h i s gave t h e o c c a s i o n f o r Goddess Lakehmi t o p i c k

up a q u a r r e l w i t h h e r husband. Bhrugu ' s k i c k on t h e c h e a t o f

t h e Lord f e l l on h e r . C o n s e q u e n t l y r s h e became a n g r y f e e l i n g

t h a t Lord Vishnu s h o u l d n o t have a l lowed such an a c t t o t a k e

p l a c e . So s h e d e c l i n e d t o remain on Her c o n s o r t ' s c h e s t 1 and

l e f t t h e Heaven.Lord Vishnu u n a b l e t o bea r the s e p a r a t i o n o f

Hie c o n s o r t ~ a k s h m i , d e c i d e d t o g o t o a s u i t a b l e p l a c e t o

spend H i s time p e a c e f u l l y r and d i s c o v e r e d a b e a u t i f u l s i te

on t h e S e s h a c h a l a H i l l .

GOVINDARAJA TEMPLE, TIRUPATI

Tirupati Town came into existence in the middle of

the twelfth centuryr with the building of Sri Govindaraja

temple. Before that there was a small village named Kottur

to adjacent the place where the Govindaraja temple stoodr

there was a small idol dedicated to Lord Krishna. It was

said that the famous Vaishnava teacher Ramanuja founded the

Govindaraja temple and a small settlement around the temple

called Ramanujapuramt confined to four Mada streets. During

Vijayanagar dynatastiest the settlement grew, and the temple

attracted the pilgrims visiting Tirumala.

The accession of Kulottunga (1070-1120 A.D.) had

significant conseuqences as far as ~aishnavism in Southern

India was concerned! as the king was an ardent Saiva.

Vaishnava activities at that time under Ramanuja were

predinent, with the result then religious rival groups,

asserted that there was nothing greater than siva and vice

versa. Recalling the insulting attitude of the Vaishnavas

Kulottunga remarked that the proper place for vishnu was not

the earth! but the sea. As a result, the vaishnavas became

insecure! fearing the safety of their God. They got into the

sanctum and took possession of the utaavamurti and feed from

Chidambaran to Kottur! hiding the idol. Not risking the

hostility of the chola ruler! Ramanuja fled to the Hoyasala

kingdom when then flourished in the modern Mysore State.

Ramanuja lived there for years and returned to Srirangam

Only after the death of Kolottunga in 1120 A.D. He vieited

Tirumala in the meantime and realised that the idol of

Govindaraja brought from Chidambaram was hidden below the

Hill. He put up a modest for Sri Govindaraja adjacent to the

shrine of Krishna, already in existence. This event was

inscribed about 1130 A.D.

The Govindaraja temple received greater attention

with the advent of Vijayanagar rule over Tondamandalam.

~nteresting data about the Govindaraja temple was

learned from the inscriptions of the Saluva Dynasty as

described.

An inscription of 1456 A.D. states that a Hunting

festival was celebrated on the second day of the month of

Thai. Another record of 1467 A.D. states that Govindaraja,

Sridevi and Bhudevi were given a holy bath with water

obtained from a tank arranged by ~amanuja. An epigraph of

1475 A.D.r reveals the oil and betel offered to Lord

venkateswara were being brought to Govindaraja at the time

of his ~irumanjanam on the day of Krittika star in the month

of Karttika. A certain teacher, named Van-Sathakopa Jiyart

constructed the varandah of the Vasanthamandapamt at the

entrance of the ~ovindaraja shrine, but the unfinished roof

was completed by Nallar-Angan dai during the twelve days of

the Vaikhasi festival. The inscription also reveals that

Govindaraja was taken in procession through the streets on

the day of Sankaramandapam and during the Kanuppadf

festival. One more record of this time mentions that

offerings made to Lord Venkateswara are brought down from

Tirumala to ~irupatil Govindaraja and Sudikuduttanachachiyar

go out to welcome them.

The Govindaraja temple came in for greater

patronage during the rule of the Saluva dynasty of

Vidyanagara. A certain Appa Pillai built a mantapam in front

of the kitchen in I506 A.D.

Special Features of the Temple

There are two shrinesl in the centre o f innermost

enclosure. These two shrined are enclosed by an outer wall.

The shrine to the south is that of Kriehnal popularly known

as Parthasarathi, while the inner shrin to the north is that

of Govindarajal according inscriptions of 16th Century. The

position of gopura face the shrine of Krishnal and not the

shrine of Govindaraja. The innermost gopura wae built in the

13th centuryl and the centralgopuram in the 15th centuryl

and the outermost was built in the 17th century. The

Govindaraja shrine is said to have been built by Ramanuja in

1130 A,D. i,e. a century before the innermost gopura was

b u i l t . S t i l l , the gopura was built so as to face Krishna

shrine and not the Govindaraja shrine. Another peculiar

feature to be seen in thia temple is the mixture of

architectural styles. Inside the Govindaraja shrine the

pillars of the open varandha on the three sides of the

Garbhagriha Antarala and the ~ukharnanta~arn are of the Chola

style while the structures are of a later period.

The data of the present shrine of Govindaraja

reveals that Vaishnava tradition ascribe its building to the

great teacher Ramanuja about 1130 A.D., and the date falls

within the period of Chola rule. The Chola capitals on the

pillars of the varandah round the main shrine and its

mukhamantapam indicate this date. These pillars are similar

to those of Parameawara temple at Jogi-Mallavaram which

belongs to the middle of the 10th centuryh and which is a

pacca Chola temple.

GODDESS PAPPAVATHI AMMAVARI TEMPLE d~ TIRUCHaNUR

S r i Padmavathi temple was b u i l t by S a i n t RamanuSs

111 t h e t w e l f k h c e n t u r y , and t h e wor sh ip i n t h e temple is

a c c o r d a n c e wit The t emp le ie located

about 3 krns . t o t h e

l e g e n d s t t h e Goddess Lakshmi r e v e a l e d H e r s e l f i n a goaden

l o t u s i n t h e Puahka rdn i known a s Padma Sacovaramt which was

b e l i e v e d t o have been dug by t h e Lord w i t h h i s Gadayudha

when He Game t h e r e i n s e a r c h o f Goddess Lakshmi. Among the

f e s t i v a l s conduc t ed t h e r e , Panchami Thdrtham d u r i n g K a r t i k a

Brahmotsvam is Earnous, a t t r a c t i n g a l a r g e number at

d e v o t e e & . On t h a t day pasupuo kurnkum, p a t t u s a r e e t flow&?

g a r l a n d w i t h l a d d u padi are b r o u g h t from T i r u m a l a tawp3.e

w i t h honoure . I t i e b e l i e v e d t h a t the v i s i t t o Yehkatwiw~e

t e m p l e a t z i r u m a l a f u l f i l s ohe'e w i s h e s o n l y after a vEe&

to padmava th i '@ t e m p l e T i ruchahu r . The Abhgdhdk6i3h W3 @had

Goddess i a BoHI bn e v e r y FridQ-

SRI PADMAVATHI AMMAVARX TEMPLE, TIRUCAANUR

PROGRAMME:

Suprabhatham : 5.00 AM TO 5.30 AM

Sahasranamarchana : 5.30 AM TO 6.00 AM ( 4 persons allowed)

Suddhil ~ i r s t Bell : 6.00 AM TO 6.30 AM

Sarva Darsanam : 6.30 AM TO 11.30 AM

Suddhi, 2nd Bell : 11.30 AM TO 12.00 NOON

Sarva Darsanam : 12.00 NOON TO 6.00 PM

Suddhi~ 3rd Bell : 6.00 PM TO 6.30 PM

Sarva Darsanam : 6.30 PM TO 8.45 PM

N i g h t Suddhi : 8 . 4 5 PM TO 9.00 PM

Ekantha Seva : 9.00 PM TO 9.30 PM

ON FRIDAYS:

Abhishekam : 9.00 AM TO 10.00 AM (One person will be allowed for Rs.100/- t i c k e t )

Abhishekam Darsanam : 9.00 AM TO 10.00 A M (~s.5/- per head)

ARJITHA PRASADAMS

ARJITHA SEVAS

Tiruchi Utsavam

E l e p h a n t vahanam

Do sa

Dadhyodhanam

Tiruppavada ~ullihora

Dolotsavam Pongal

(on Fridays only) Chakkarapongal

(5gms Silver dollar Kesaribath

will be given to grihasta) Sakazibath

Seera

In addition to this, devotees can perform Aatothara

aathanama can be performed to Goddess on payment.

SEVAS AT TIRUMALA SHRINE

Daily Sevaa

Every day Sri Venkateswara temple begins with the

Suprabhatham, and the Lord is ceremoniously awakened from

His rest at night. Bhoga Srinivasamurthi is taken from Hia

bed-chamber to the aanctum sanctorium. Harathi, milk and

butter are offered to th@ Lord, and now He is ready to bless

the devotees in His Visvarupadarsanam.

After the sanctified cleaning of the garbhagrihaml

the morning worship of Thomala Seva takes place. Abhishekam

with sacred water brought from Akasaganga is performed to

the Bhoga Srinivasamurthi. The Lord is then adorned with

flowers and garlands. Naivedyam of cooked rice is offered to

the Lord, followed by darsanam to devotees.

At the Lord's durbar, Koluvu srinivasamurthi is

brought to the Tirumamani Mandapam with all paraphernalia.

An account of the previous day's collections in the Hundi is

read out.

Ashtottara Sahaaranama Archana is the next Seva

when the worship is performed in tune with the chanting of

the thousand and one names of the Lord, along with the

participation of the devotees. Following this, all the

cooked food is taken inside the aanctum sanctorum, and it is

t h e day ' s m,ain $.o.od-,offe~ings , to ! the .Lord w i t h W &%&&q

of t h e two b i g b.el1.s i n .Tirumernani Mandapam, .an# d?$aI,qi,; . .

pilgrirne a r a l e t i n ;t.o have f r e e darsanam.

A £ t e r dharma darsanam, . the noon-pu j e .f akee p l a c e

a f t e r sudahi and Ashto,$:ta:r,a Sahasr..an.amam Archana,. A second

o f f e r i n g of pood t o t h e s i n g i n g .of :t.wo b e l l e t a k e s place.

gain, p i l g r i m s a r e allo.w.ed ,to :have Zree dareanam? and it i e

done p r i v a t e l y i n o r d e r . to ,make :mqre time .avai . lab le for

dharma darsanam. During t h e .nig.htl f ~ h o m a l a Seva -ie once

again performed p r i v a t e l y .

Ekanta Seva is t h e Pas t :Seva - for :the ,day in .the

temple1 when Bhoga Sr in ivaeamurth l is !put . to :bed on a ve lve ' t

ma t t e r s s spread over a s w i n g - c ~ , t , ~ :s.uqpended 'by .e:iil.ver cha'ine

i n t h e sayana Mandapam.

A t t h e , r eques t of 8t.he devoteee., !Amant;ranotsava

Seva covering Thomala and Arahana ;Sevae-I ; takes #place .

Devotees can p a r t i c i p a t e kn ~Nktyakar.puriiharath~i

Ni tyanavani ta and Nitya Arc:ha.na :S:evma -a lso iby s p e c i a l

arrangements.

. Af te r f r e e darsanam t o t h e , p i ~ g ~ ~ m e 'foll.owing %h.e

noon-puja Kalyanotaavam is celebrat :ed every ,:day mdt

Kalyana Mandapam when Sri Malayappa Swami (~tsavamurthi)

along with His consorts are brought there from the sanctum

sanctorum~ and regular marriage rituals are performed.

Brahmotsavam can also be performed by devotees in

a shortened form within the temple precincts when Sri

Malayappa Swami and His consorts are worshipped.

Vasantotsavam is also similarly performed by the devotees

for their happiness and prosperity.

Unjal Seva is another colourful event, when Sri

Malayappa Swami and His consorts are seated on a cradle at

Aina Maha11 known as Mirror-Hall, and swung to the

accompaniment of Veda-parayanat and mangala vadyam. The

Utsavamurthies are mounted on the vahanams like Garuda,

Seshat Hanumanthat Elephant and worshipped. The Unjal Seval

known earlier as Anna Unjal Tirunal, dates back to the days

of Saluva Narasirnha of the fifteenth century, and was

performed once a year. Now it takes place as a daily Seva.

Weekly Sevas comprise (1) Vishesha Pooja to take

place on Mondays, and (2) Astadala Pada padmaradhana, to be

celebrated on Tuesdays.

On Wednesdaysr Sahasrakalasabhishekam is peformed.

The Utsavamurthis are brought to the Tirumamani Mandapaml

and abhishekam is done with sanctified water filled in one

thousand and eight vessels.

On Thursdaysr Pulangi Seva is performed to the

Dhruvamurthy. All the ornaments are removedr and the

Tirumann kappu and kasturi on the forehead are scrapped1

leaving just a trace of them. The eyes of the Lord are

visible to a g r e a t e r extent, and the darsan on that occasion

is called 'Netra daraanam'. The Lord is decorated with

flowers and garlands and dressed in blue silk tunicl with

the sword fixed in the waist.

The Tiruppavada Seva consists of offering huge

quantity of cooked rice as pulihora, and it takes place on

Thursdays only. Devotees participate by previous engagement.

On Fridays, ~bhishakam is done to the Dhruvamurthi

and His consorts on His bosom. pancha karpuramt civet oil1

saf front kasturi, turmeric paste, khus-khus, gingelly-oil,

butterr sugar and milkr are the main items used for the

abhishekarn.

Circar UnjaL Seva is performed in the Koluvu

Mandapam every day evening. The ~tsavamurthi along with Hia

consortsr is placed on a decorated unjal (swing).

Sri V e n k a t e a w 8 1 ~ Temple: Tirumala (sri vari ~emple)

Arjitha Seva List (Paid Sevas and Darsanarn)

S1. m e of the Seva NO.

No .of Time Amount persons allowed

1. Special Entrance (For Darsan)

2. Suprabhatha darsanam

3. Amanthranothsavam (For Suprabhatam and Thomala)

4. Thomalaseva

5. Archana

6. Ekantha Seva

7. Vieesha Pooja (only Mondays)

8. Astadhala pada Padmaradhana (Tueedays)

9. ~ahasrakalasabhishekam (~ednesdays)

10. Thiruppavada Seva (~hursdays)

11. Weekly Abhishekam (Fridays)

(a) Poorabhishekam

(b) Civet Vessel

(c) Kasthuri Vessel

(d) Nijapada Darsanaseva

12. ~opnbined Seva on ~ridaya ( ~ h d a & Archana)

13. Sahasra Deepalankara Seva (Everyday) (Seva outside temple premiees)

14. &ilyanothsavam (Everyday)

During Sarva Darsan 25 .OO

15. Parthyeka Kalyanothsavam (Everyday) 5 10.30 a.m. 500.00

16. Arjitha Brahmothsavam (Everyday) 1 5 l.OOp.m. 500.00

(a ) pedda Seaha Vahanam 1 Vahanasevas can also be per-

(b) Silver Garuda Vahanam I formed individually on each

(c) s i l v e r Hanwnantha Vahanam 1 vahana

17. (1) Surya Prabha Vahanam (Sunday) 100 .OO

(2) Chandra Prabha (Monday) 100 .OO

(31 Simha Vahanam (~uesday) 100 .OO

(4) Kalpa Vriksha Vahanam (Tuesday) 125.00

(5 ) Horse ( Aawa) Vahanam (Wednesday) 100.00

(6) Gaja (Elephant) Vahanam (Thursday) 100 .OO

(7) Hamsa (swan) Vahanam ( ~ r i d a y ) 125 .OO

(8) Sawa Bhoopala Vahanam (Saturday) 125.00

18. Mlothsavam (In Mirror ha l l within the Temple premises) 6 1.00p.m. 750.00

P e r i o d i c a l Sevas

S a h a s r a D ipa l anka ra Seva is conducted on s r a v a n a

nakshat ram day. The Lord and His c o n s o r t s a r e b rought t o t h e

Un ja l Mandapam where one thousand and e i g h t ghee w i c k - l i g h t s

g r e e t them.

K o i l Alwar TIrumanjanam i s p u r i f i c a t o r y f u n c t i o n

o f t h e sanctom and t h e whole t emp le p r e c i n c t s , performed on

t h e day b e f o r e ~ g a d i (Telugu N e w Pea r Day) , Anivara

Asthanam, Brahmotaavam and va ikun tha Ekadas i .

Pavitrotsavam i e s e e e n t i a l l y a three-day annualt

p u r i f i c a t o r y ceremony and i t s object i e t o exp ia t e the- k n r

of commiesion and omission arising i n the daily worship and

o t h e r r e l i g i o u e r i t e s performed i n the temDle. ~ i r . s t it waa

r e c i t a t i o n of t h e Vedas, and the reading of pu.r.aname on a l l

t h e days. T h i s was not observed f o r a long per iod . I:t h a s

been rev ived , and t h e f e s t i v a l is ce l eb ra t ed wieh all

enthusiasm i n August, commencing from Sravana Suklapdkasha

dasami . Pushpayagam i a a grand c e l e b r a t i o n .which conslists

of o f f e r i n g d i f f e r e n t k inds of eweet-acented Ekowers t o the

Lord on s ravana nakshatr'am day i n November7 fo1,lowing t h e

annual Brahmotaavam.

The annual vaaan!thoteava;m is the 'fedt&wd

d e l e b r a i d in the .mont:h .of % p r i ~ ~ ;comm@nci!ng 'on ~ S u d h

Ttayodas i f o r t h W e day8 t'o :cord ~ankateswita -md !#I&

process ion ' of: t h e ~ . o , r d and Hie conso r t s on t h e second day.

On t h e t h i r d day of t h e f e s t i v a l a full-moon day, not ,only

Sr i Venkateswara and H i s conso r t s , bu t a l s o Sri Ramat siita.,

Lakshmana, S r i Krishna and Rukrnani, a r e tak.en i!n an

impressive process ion on a l l ' t h e f o u r Mada s t r e e t 6 sound sehe

temple.

- The Annual Teppotsavam t akes .place dur ing : t h e

month of Phalgunam f o r f i v e days. T h e de i tPe:s aE.t,er

c o l o u r f u l decora t io t l adorned by jewels and f lowers a r e

p laced i n t h e f l o o d - l i t f l o a t and towed round i n t h e Swami

Fuahkar in i t o t h e accompaniment of Nadasvaram music and

vadaparayanam.

Padmavathi Parinaycbtdavam waB recent . ly :perf,o;rmed !by

the rTD daeea which l i k e l y t o be annual feature. .

. . 45

S1. Name of the Seva No.of Time Amount NO. persons

allowed -------I

1. Vasanthothsavam (For one day) 10 2.00 p.m. 3000.00

2. Float Festival (For one day) (Yearly once 5 days function) 5 6.00 p.m. 2500.00

3. Koil Alwar Thirumanjanam (Yearly 4 times on specified days) 10 11.00 a.m. 3000.00

4. Pavithrothsavam (3 days seva) 5 - 5000 .OO

5. Pushpa Yagam (Once in a year on f i r s t Sravanam after brahmothsavarn) 5 6.00 a.m. 3500.00

6. Abhideyaka Abhishekarn (Once i n a year for three days generally during J U ~ ) 5 8.00 a.m. 2000.00

Devotees who wish t o do m a Prasada (Rice and Food offerings) to

Srivaru can do so as fol1aws:-

Pulihora loo/- Vada 350/-

Pongal 110/- Poli 350/-

Cha .Pongal 135/- h s a 350/-

Sakarabat h 150/- Laddu 750/-

Payasam 125/- Thenthola 350/-

Seera XO/- Sukiyam 300/-

Those devotees who wish to perform the follming uthsavams on specified

day of their choice every year can do M, by depoeing the amounts as

noted against each as Trust fund for Sevas, w i t h the T.T.D.

1. Kalyanothsavam (10 persons) 20,000/-

2. Prathyeka Kalyenothsavam ( 5 persona) 5,000/-

3. Brahmothsavam (5 persons) 5,000/-

4. Unjal Seva (Dolosthavam) (6 persons) 7 r 500/-

5. Amanthranothsavam (Two persons) 4,000/-

6. Thomalaseva (one person only) 1 ,OOO/-

7. Sahasra Namarchana (one person) l1000/-

Brahmotsavam of Lord venkateawara in Tirurnala

Prologue: Sri Vari Temple at Tirumala is a synonym for

"Nithya Kalyanam, Pacha Thoranum" which means that there is

daily festival with festoons of green leaves in the temple

of Lord Venkateswara, the presiding deity of Tirumala. Yet

the annual Brahmotsavam celebrated for 9 days during Sep-Oct

in honour of the Lord is unique in itself. The precineta of

the temple is illuminated in a grand manner which offers

ectasy and grandeen to Lakhs of pilgrim who throng to see

the Brahmotsavam every nook and corner of the country.

Molodious music and devotional songs are sung by the Asthana

vidwana of T.T. Devasthanams. ~eligious hymns from the Vedas

and the Puranas are recited by eminent vedic scholors and

purana pandits everyday. On all the festival days, the deity

is seated on different vahanas and take in a procession on

all the four streets of the temple. pilgrims without

difference in class, caste or creed assemble on all the four

streets to have the darsan of the Lord.

o r i g i n of t h e ~ e s t i v a l : The annual Brahmotsavam ce l eb ra t i on

is unique i n i t s e l f because i t marks not on ly t h e l a r g e s t

number of devotees a t t ed ing t he f e s t i v a l but a l s o over-

reachee t h e t a r g e t i n terms of income. The annual

~rahrnotsavam is being ce lebra ted from times immemorial

without much change i n i t s procedural pa t t e rn s . The d a i l y

vahanam procedure has been t he same throughout except f o r

abharana a lankarams~ time-bound procession and modern

technique i n i l lumina t ion . The o r ig in s of the Annual

Brahmosam a t Tirumala a r e descr ibed i n sacred Looks l i k e

Varahapuranat Venkatachala Mahatyam, S r i Venkatachala

Ithihaeam. The o r i g i n goes back t o pal lava dynasty during

t h e r equ i r e of Dantivaraman Pallava who ce lebra ted t h e

annual Brahmotsavam f o r seven day d u r i n g t he month of

~ a r g h a s h i r a . Later some pal lava r u l e r s endowed lands and

gold towards t h e cost of t h e Brahmotsavam. During t h e l o t h

and 12th c e n t u r i e s , two Brahmotsavam were ce lebra ted i n the

months of Bhadrapada and ~ a r g a e i r a and second Fes t i va l was

a l s o observed i n t h e month of Ashada a l so . Later Harihara

Raya 11 o f t he Vizayanagaram ~ m p i r e i n s t i t u t e d a f r e s h

Brahmotsavam and donated some v i l l a g e s t o t h e Lord t o meet

t h e expenditure towards the ce lebra t ion of a f resh

Brehmoteavarn. The annual Brahmotsavam which f a l l s i n t he

month of Badrapad has become popular. I t i s ce lebra ted for 9

days. The f i r a t day of t he f e s t i v a l s t a r t s i n the evening

when sri viswak Sena is worshipped and taken i n a proceeeion

on fou r s t r e e t s of t h e temple t o c o l l e c t t h e sacred e a r t h t o

perform homa i n t h e Yogasala everyday. T h e a c t u a l utsavam

commences on t h e second day i n t h e monring w i t h t h e h o i s t i n g

of ~ a r u d a d w a j a . T h e process ional d i e t y S r i Malayappaswami

and h i s two coeo r t e S r idev i and Bhudevi a r e taken i n t i r u c h i

and t h e r e a f t e r s ea t ed i n Tirumala Raya Mandaparn. The

ausp i c ious time f o r dwa jarohanam is f ixed by t h e ARchakas

and o t h e r r e l i g i o u s people and t h e Garudadwaja is ho ie ted by

t h e ch i e f Archaka ~ i r a s i d a r along w i t h vedic r e c i t a l s and

Mangala vadhya. The rea f t e r t he Brahmotsavam cont inues f o r

n ine days when t h e Utsava is taken on d i f f e r e n t vahanams

according t o t r a d i t i o n a l norms. It is bel ieved t h a t Brahma

himself w i l l s u r p r i s e t h e arrangments and so. He is taken i n

a small deco ra t e c h a r i o t preceeding t h e proceesion of t h e

utsavam. In t h e n igh t of t h e f i r s t day t h e ~alayappaswamy is

mounted on a Big Adisesha Vahanam and taken roung t h e four

s t r e e t s of t h e temple w i t h a l l paraphernal ia of decorated

temple e l e p h a n t s r horses and b u l l s . In t he morning of t he

second day, t h e d e i t y i s taken i n a small Adisesha Vahanam

and i n t h e n i g h t r t h e Lord i s routed on Hamsavahana.

P a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e n i g h t t h e procession g i v e s added

eplendour o r g a i e t y due t o t h e i n s t a l l a t i o n of i l l umina t i on

on t h e temple gopuram and t h e w a l l s of t h e temple. ~ i m h a

vahanam i n t h e morning and Muthya ~ a n d i r i o r a panda1

decorated w i t h p e a r l s ,are tlhe v,ahenams qn : the .morning #@ I

evening of t h e third day fels,tivaL.. ,Ka&pakauriksha .or a . t r e e

of s i l v e r leaves , golden apples and 0t.he.r ,fr.ul,tp is ,u@ed , t o

ca r ry the d e i t y w i t h h i e co,nso.r:t;rr i!n !the mor.4n6ng af t he

fourth day and i n t he n ight , t he de i t y is taken &n ,Surva

~ h u p a l a Vahanam guilded w i t h gold. Of . a l l ;the days,, :the

f i f t h day of t h e f e a t i v a l o f f e r s pomp and .ga'i.ety ibecauae

Mohini Avataram i n the morning and .Ga$r,udaseva i n ;the avenng

a r e t he h igh l igh t s of the f e s t i v a l . The lord i sdeao rded i n

t h e female from - Mohini, a devine dameel. 1.t i-s .believ,ed

t h a t Lord V i s h n u himself assumed Lhe female b+om.Mahlni : to

provide " A m r u t h " t o Suras and deceive the Ai3UraB. ,'She deilty

w i l l be adorned a l l feminine ornaments .and ,moun:t,ed .on an

ivory palanquin and taken i n a procession on a l l ehe four

streets of the tempJe. The highl ight of ,the 'whole

Brahmot leva the

nevote& from a l l . parts of the country assemble .at V&R~:B@

50

p o i n t s t o have t h e darsan of t h e Lord. ~t i.g a f e a s t to t h e

eye t o s e e such a t h r i l l i n g s i g h t . The average assembly of

t h e p i l g r ims f o r t h i s Garudeva every year i s est imated t o be

n e a r l y 1 1/2 l akhs . The u t savar is decorated w i t h s e p c i a l

ornaments l i k e Mahara Kantikal Lakahmi Haram of t h e

Moolavar. The grandiose should be experienced but cannot

desc r ibed i n words. I n t h e morning of t h e s i x t h day of t h e

f e s t i v a l , t h e Lord i s taken on Hanumantha Vahanam on a l l t h e

four s t r e e t s of t h e temple. I n the evening t he d i e t y and his

consor t a r e dressed i n white c lo the s and taken t o Vasnatha

Utsava Mandapam. Af t e r r e tu rn ing t o t h e temple, once again

t h e Lord is mounted on Elephant Vahanam. I n t h e morning of

t h e seventh day the Lord is taken on Surya Prabha Vahanam

and i n t h e evening t h e Lord adorns Chandra Prabha Vahanam.

The Rathostavam o r t h e Car f e s t i v a marks another t h r i l l i n g

exper ience t o t h e devotees on t h e morning of t h e e igh t day.

The wooden c h a r i o t of a huge eize, which has been decorated

e a r l i e r with a l l v a r i e t i e s of coloured c lo the s t dumney

f i g u r e s and green l e aves , i s used t o c a r r y t h e d e i t y t o t h e

enjoyment and devot ion of t h e p i lgr ims. The ca r w i l l be

dragged by t h e devotees who f e e l immensely pleased t o serve

t h e Cord i n an i n d i r e c t form. Rathotsavam a l s o a t t r a c t s more

people l i k e Garudaaeva who f e e l joyous on t h e see ing t h e

pa r aphe rna l i a of decorated e l ephan t s r horses and b u l l a i n

a d d i t i o n t o t h e chant ing of vedic hymns by veda pand i t s and

acharya purushas. I n $he night hh.8 Lord is .taken ;qn Aswe

(I-losse) Vahanam. On the .nex.t day i.n , the .mo,rni.ng .the *lord , i s

taken i n a procea.sinn t o P.u,ahk,as.$,ni on : t h e :bank .of

Varahaswamy Temple and the .Ch.akr.asn.ana . . . ie . .., .cel.ebr.a.ted .at $he

auep i c ious t ime when ,sudharsan,a, . k :is i:mme.r,sed &pto ;t:he

eacred tank. Devoteea from nei.ghbo.ur,ing .place8 are ,ready !to

t a k e t h e holy d i p i n t h e puahkarlni .at t h e auqpii;hous itime

which i e be l i eved t o absolve t h e i r s i n s c,~mrni.tt.e.d ~1cn~wi.ng.Jy

o r unknowingly s o t h a t they can a t t a i n Moks:ha o r :SaLyattion..

Afterwards t h e d e i t y is mounted nn :a gold.em r U .and

taken back t o t h e temple near t h e Dwajasthambarn and

Dwa jaarohanam o r lowering of t h e .Garwdadw.a ja llil.& ,be

performed and w i t h t h i s a l l t h e c e l e b r a t i o n s connected :with

t h e Brahmotsavam a r e completed. The f i r s t ' Brahmo,tsavam

c e l e b r a t e d i l l t he month of Bhadrapada is c a l l e d t h e Prima.ry

Brahmotsavam and t h e o t h e r Brahmotsavam ce l eb ra t ed in ithe

manth of Aswayaji is termed Navara thr i Brahmotsavam, .the

main d i f f e r e n c e l i e s in t h e use of s i l v e r c a r on t h e eig.ht'h

day of Navara th r i Brahrnotsavam i n s t e a d pf t h e wooden

c h a t i a t ; A l l the other vahaname on a l l t h e days a r e aommon.

Thik, k i n d af l l ~ ~ w b l e Bhahmoteavam" comes i n eviery bhmk

52

years as a result of Adhikamasam or extra month in every

three years. Prasadsms on all ordinary days and special days

are offered to God according to "diltano" or supply of

provisions and preparation of food-stuffs maintained in the

records. Not only during festival days but also on ordinary

days purana kalaskepam, traditional and devotional music,

vedapatanam, chanting of Mahabharata and Ramayana are

carried on by T.T.D. Asthana Vidwans specialized in such

faculties and also by regular employees appointed for such

religious discourses. It: is an established belief that the

Lord is enshrined atop the Seven ills for the emancipation

of Human beings and also to beslow boons on their for

material and spiritual happiness.

Sreevari BRABMOTSAVAM

The present-day arrangement of the vehicles for

processions in the festival is as follows: on the day

proceeding the dhvaja-arohanam is the procession of

Senadhipati or senai-~udaliyar and then seed-sowing,

ankurarpanam; the dhvajarohanam on the evening of the first

day after a procession of the Images in a golden tiruchit a

palanquin-like 'vehicle, and on the night the proceaeion on

the big sesa-vahanam (serpent vehicle);

On the Second day Morning:

Night:

On the Third day Morning :

Night:

On the Fourth day Morning:

Night:

On the Fifth day Morning:

Night :

On the Sixth day Morning:

Evening:

Small Sesa-Vahanam

Hamsa(8wan)-vahanam

Simha (lion)- aha an am

Mutyapu-~andali (pearl canopy)

Kalpa-vrksa

(divine wish-giving tree)

Sarvabhupala (Lord of the

entire earth a canopy)-

Vahanam

Palanquin with the Deity in it

dressed as a bewitching beauty

Mohini;

Garuda (Brahmani kite) Vahanam

Hanuman onke key-God)-vahanam

Tiruchi with the three Deities

in it in white gowns sprindled

thickly over with saffron mix-

ed eandal, (giving an appeara-

nce of Vasantam, turmeric wa-

ter mixed with lime) as the

customary function in the ma-

rriages on its sixth dayt and

thereby the procession itself

is designated Vasanta UtSaVam.

Gaja (~Lephant) Vahanam

On the seventh day Morning: Surya-prabha (sun's halo)

Vahanam

~ i g h t : Chandra-prabha (moon's halo)

Vahanam

On the Eighth day Morning: Vahanam Rathotsavam

(car proceasion)

Night Aswa (Horse) Vahanam

On the ~ i n t h day ~orniag: ~irst procession in Pallaki

(palanquin) the day of sra-

vanam start being conaidered

as Sri Venkateswara's birth

asterism.

Second procession in Tiruchi

distributing oil and turmeric

powder for tirthavarit avabhr-

tha (ablution) at Sri Varaha-

svami-pushkarini.

Night: ~roceseion in tiruchi and the

dhavaja avarohanarnt withdraws:

of the flag from the flag-

staff

Devotees from all over ~ndia visit ~irumala in large numbera

and participate in these Sevas co able 2.1) with joy and

happinese and derive satisfaction and inner peace.

TABLE 2.1

pilgrims visiting Tirumala - A statistice

S1. Name of State NO.

Total Percentage

1. Andhra ~ r a d e s h 140 5 6

2. Tamilnadu 60 24

3. Karnataka 45 18

4. Foreign countries 5 2

Total 250 100 -----------------__----------------------------------.

Source: Based on Researcher's Survey.

~ n t r o d u c t i o ~ : ~ h e e r t h a e a r e t h e ghggo# %wg,i! tQe dev- ,w and have d i p i n the Holy water to msb aw3q r&mL

several c e n t u r i e s back p e o p l e used to treat: e v ~ g 1rMf.e~ ,hole

a s e s a c r e d t h e e r t h a i n Tirumala Hills. AIL t'ErsetMaem's #a$m

was b e l i e v e to converge into kbe swami guahkarink Ww&tagh

under ground c h a n n e l s .

In Tirumala B i l l s t according t o puranas, there are

66 crore of Theerthas e x i s t i n g , out o f theee I108 are

c o n s i d e r e d important. Out o f t h e s e 1108 theerbhaa about 108

a r e c o n s i d e r e d important. T h e r e are the under mentioned

t h e e r t h a s are being v i s i t e d by t h e devokees.

2 . Gajendra ~ h e e r t h a m

3 . Gogarbha Theertham

21, Vishwakshena T h e e r t h a m

22. Anjaneya Theertham

23. Karthlkeya Theertham

2 4 , Garuda T h e e r t h a m

25- K r i s h n a Theertham

5; Papavinasanarn Theertham

7 . Kumaradhara T h e e r t h a m

8. Sanakaeananda T h e e r t h a m

10. Thumbura Theertham

11. Shesha - T h e e r t h a m

12- N a m a L a Theertham

13. Seethamma T h e e r t h a m

14. N a g a T h e e r t h a m

1 5 . Chakca ~ h e e r k h a m

16. Dheva Theertham

17. ~ a i k u n t a Theertham

18. Bhima ~heertham

19. Kagila Theertham

2 0 . Seetha.pa1.a ~ h e e r t h a m

TIRUMALA DURING EARLY DAYS

It was during the eighth century that the Alwars

recognised Tirupati temple as a temple of shrine. In the

~ a m i l region! Shaivism became a dominant faith. Even the

kings of the region were patrons of Saivism. Vaishna idols

dwindled in large numbersl and the peaceful life of the

vaishnavas was disturbed by the developing sectarians'

intolerance of the Saivites. As a result, the Vaishnavites

turned their attention to the Lord ~ishnu shrine in ~irupati

which was the northernmost boundary of the Tamil regionr and

was free from sectarian beliefs. They began to visit the

place in large numbers. The vaishnava Alwars sang in praise

of the Lordr describing Him as "self-manifestation of

vishnu" "Destroyer of Sins" I and "~iver of all Boons".

By Alwars, the praise of the Lord was a turning

point in the history of Tirumala temple. It was the

beginning of its popularity. Alsor it was the origin of the

belief that the Deity was the great fulfiller of peoples'

wishes. Under such implicit faithr people turned to Lord

Venkateswara for help in their critical situations, or to

realise their desires and expectations.

Since the Venkateswara temple was located on the

hillr it was not easily accessible to all in those days. The

v a i s h n a v i t i e s b u i l t a temple i n Tiruchanur, and i n e t a l l e d a

s i l v e r r e p l i c a of t h e Lord t he r e . Those who could not climb

t h e ~ i l l t o f f e r ed t h e i r worship the re and contented w i t h i t .

The S a i v i t e impact l a t e r spread t o Tiruchanur, and a l s o a

Siva temple sprang up the re . To avoid s e c t a r i a n d i f f e r ences

and c l a s h e s , t h e Vaishnavites des i red t o confine the i r

a c t i v i t i e s t o ~ i r u m a l a region only.

I n t h e nineteenth century A.D., t he Vaishnavi tes

f e l t t h e need t o have a proper temple a t Tirumala h i l l r and

the i r i n t e r e s t became an accomplished f a c t . Sanctum

Sanctorurn w i t h an anti-chamber f o r the p r i e s t s t o s t and and

worship, was cons t ruc ted . ~ u r i n g worship, Borne kind of food

o f f e r i n g s were made. Perhaps, t h i s was q u i t e s u f f i c i e n t t o

feed t h e p r i e s t and two o r th ree o ther persons a t t ached t o

khe temple.

Subsequentlyl t h e r e p l i c a of Lord Venkateswara

which was i n Tiruchanur temple was taken t o Tirumala H i l l

andl after due ceremonies, was i n s t a l l e d i n sanctum

sanctorium. T h i s i d o l , called Bhoga ~ r i n i v a a was placed

i n s i d e f o r he convenience of worship, f o r d a i l y abhisheka,

f o r 'sayanal ceremony a t n ight . This could be done only t o a

p o r t a b l e i d o l i . e . t h e M u r t h i r and not t o t h e o r i g i n a l

Murthi ( i . e . Mula ~ u r t h i ) .

The installation of Bhoga Srinivasa ~ u r t h i in the

sanctum sanctorum of the temple was an important occasion,

because, with it, commenced the ritualistic type of worahip

in the temple! such as pujas, festivals, and food offerings

to the deity as Per the Vaishaka agamas, which were

introduced, and later developed. In fact, the development of

the temple from that time was gradual and steady, and spread

over a period of six centuries. Development took place in

the form of expansion of its atructuret i.e. construction of

additional chambers to the sanctum sanctorum, Vimanamet

Prakarams, etc. and induction of other replicas of the Lord

into the temple with is consorts~ Bhudevi and sridevi and

other shrines such as sri ~aghunadha and ~ r i Krishna.

Constributions made by several rulers, their administrators~

and officers, helped to maintain the various kinds of pujas~

festivalsl and food offerings. Not only these! ornaments

were presented to Lord Venkateswara and other idols, and

money donated for the construction of mutts, kutams, and

choultries for lodging and boarding of the Pilgrims-

During ~amanuja's period (1017-1137 A . D . ) , the

temple of Lord Venkateswara received great impetus for its

growth and development , including the founding of Tirupati . He believed that there should be a growing town at the foot

of the Hill to serve as a convenient halting place for the

devoteas on their way to Tirumala ~ i l L . After the death of

~amanuja~ shrines were constructed for Ramanuja both in

Tirumala and ~irupati temples.

Yadava Kinga

The Yadavaraya Kinga of Narayanavanam, were the

early great patrons of Lord Venkateswara. One of the

Yadavaraya kings was Veera Narasinga Yadavaraya who built

the present famous Ananda Nilayam, i.e./ Vimanam over the

Sanctum Sanctorum. In factl the king wanted to make Tirumala

temple as l~uragiwi'l i.e./ the capital of Indrat in

brilliance, and for this, the ~ i n g quilded the Ananda

Nilayam. After three and a half centuries, the Sanctum

Sanctorum from the time of its installation in 900 A.D. had

for the first time a gold plated ~imanam that shines under

the Sun and the Moon, greeted by all the visiting pilgrims

even today.

Pallavas

The Pallava Kings appeared to be the earliest

donara to the Lord's temple. From the inscriptions at

Alamelu Mangapuramt Sri Vijaya Dantivarma of Pallava

undertook the repairs of the Lord's temple and the

Sopanamargar i.e. the foot-path way. In factl ~allavas'

achievement is on the whole very considerable towards public

workst as well as pious acts of benefactions to the

religious and economic organisation. Pallava Kings used to

visit Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala at the time of their

cororation~ and also after winning the battle to obtain the

blessings of the Lord.

Chola Dynasty

It has been pointed out that the Kings under Chola

Dynasty were great builders of cities' and templesl and

patrons of Lord Venkateswara. In fact, the Kings of Chola

laid their treasure at the feet of the Lord along with their

bodies and mind.

Vijayanagaram Rule

Under the patronage of Vijayanagaram Kings, the

idol at Tirumala came into great prominence, During that

period, Jiyyars were provided with all privileges. The

chanting of vedas was instituted by Devaraya, while the

image of the deity was being carried around on festival

occasions. Half of the revenue collection of the villages

was paid into the temple treasury.

Kriahnadevarayale Patronage

Krishnadevaraya was a great devotee of Lord

Venkateswara a t Tirumala and Lord Siva at Kalahasti. ~uring

essential and crucial periodel he visited Tirumala and

worship@@d the Lord, and then rode t o Kalahast i t o pray t o

Lord Shivs- In a l l , he paid seven visits t o Tirumala

accompanied by h i s two queens, tirumala Dcvi and Chinna

Devi- He Presented a gold crown s e t w i t h precious gems, and

gold p l a t e s f o r waving camphor l i g h t a . After cap tur ing

udayag i r i i n 1514 A.D.1 he had a Kanakabhishekam performed

f o r t h e Lord w i t h 301000 varshas, presented ornaments and

granted v i l l a g e s . The queens o f fe red t o t he Lord pendants,

Navaratna p rabhava l i , e tc . A t t h e end of h i s war w i t h

Ga japa th i , he gave a pendant and necklace f o r t h e Lord, and

a l s o 301000 varshaa f o r regui ld ing the Vimanam over t h e

sanctum sanctorumr toge ther w i t h the g ran t of t o l l s

(Sunkama) f o r t h e expensee of morning o f f e r ings t o t h e Lord,

The gu i ld ing of Divya-virnanam with gold was completed by

1518 A.D. by S r i Krishnadevaraya. I n the temple of Lord

Venkateswara i n Tirumala on e i t h e r s ide of S r i Krishna

Devaraya, there a r e copper s t a t u e s of only these two queens!

t h e s t a t u e of Chinna Devi on t h e r i g h t , and on t h e l e f t

Tirumala Devi. t heir names a r e inscr ibed on the shoulders of

the s t a t u e s . F ina l ly , S r i ~ r i s h n a Devaraya appointed a

number of temple admin is t ra to rs t o ca r ry out t h e d a i l y

o f f e r i n g s and pujas t o the ~ o r d . Towards t h e end of t h e

f o u r t e e n t h century i n t h e period of Mangi Dews's Son/ t h e

r e c i t a t i o n of t h e heartening suprbhata Cam@ i n t o vogue- The

practice of using Pachakarpuram and ~ a e t u r i for the original

idol after abhishekam orginated thereafter.

Achyutaraya

Achyutaraya was a pious and noble pereon, devoted

to ~ o r d Venkateswara, and had spent much of his time at

~handragiri before he became the ruler at Hampi. In the

year 1531 A.D.1 he constructed the Link Kapilatheertham

providing with stone steps and mandapams all aroundl so that

pilgrims might conveniently bath there before they proceeded

to Tirumala. Devotees firmly believed that all holy streams

of Tirumala flowed into the tank, and so considered their

bath in that tank sacred. Achyutaraya's first coronation was

celebrated at Tirumala where he was bathed in the sacred

water poured out of the couch of the hand of Lord

Vonkateswara. In 1533, the ~ i n g Achyutarayat in his zeal for

worshipping the Lordl by himself performed Sahastra

hlamarchana in the templet and presented to the ~ o r d a big

Kaphal i.e. garment for the body fully studded with

diamonds and pearle. In the same Year1 A c h ~ u t a r a ~ a

reconstructed the atone steps of swami pushkarini~ and also

constructed a new tank adjacent to the first one, and named

Achyutaraya tank. Finallyr this Koneru fell into ruin, and

later in the nineteenth century! it was filled up and

converted into a garden by the management of the aha ants of

~atiramji Mutt. The statue of King Achyutaraya and his Queen

varadaraja Ammalt adorn Tirumala temple on the southern side

of the entrance in the temple. In the case of Hindu

religion, he had sent a number of clamaels to Tirumala from

his capital to serve Lord Venkateswara in their humble wayl

and live on the prasadams granted to them from the. temple.

Sadasiva Rayalu

Sadasiva Raalu paid only one visit to Ti~umaLa. Be

abolished devadasi dancing in the sanctum sanctorum due to

the pollution that had crept into the sacred place because

of the unholy association of the temple priests with the

Devadasis. In the year 1561 A.D. , his minister Tirumalaraya

built Tirumalaraya Mantapam on the left aide of the

Dhwajasthamba Mantapam. After the defeat of Sadasivaraya in

the battle of Tallikota in the year 1565 broke the

Vijayanagar powerl and marked the beginning o f

Vijayanagara's end. It also closed the line of kings who

contributed to the growth and development of ~ h r i

Venkateswara's temple at Tirumala.

The kings who followed King Sadasivaraya were

unable to contribute any amount to temples in Tirupati and

Tirumala. New endowmentsl though very few in numberl were

made only through private sources, especially from the

devotees.

The impact of t h e Tamils i n T i r u p a t i - ~ i r u m a l a

which was very popular a t t he time of l eadersh ip of Tamil

r u l e r s dec l i ned with t h e f a l l of Vijayanagaram a u t h o r i t y ,

and f i n a l l y ceaeed t o be when t he Telugu speaking

admin i s t r a t i on of Golkonda began t o exerc i se t h e i r swamy

over t h e region . Since then, every year the temple gave t h e

Golkonda Nawab l a r g e amounts of money out of its revenue.

The r e c e i p t s of Lord's temple came from the o f f e r i n g s of t h e

devo tees , which depended on t h e i r economic p rosper i ty of t h e

na t i on , i t s a g r i c u l t u r a l t u rn over , t r a d e ) and t h e

a v a i l a b i l i t y of currency. The long and continued wars

des t royed product ion, manufactures, and trade! and brought

about s o c i a l d i so rgan i sa t ion .

Re l i g ious Teachers of t h e Time

Vyasath i r tha was t he founder of t he Vysaraya

Matha. Even though Krishnadevaraya's r e l i q i o u s l ean ings were

towards ~ a i s h n a v i a m , t r a d i t i o n revealed t h a t vyaea th i r tha

had spen t twelve yeare a t Tirumalal worshipping the Lord on

each Thursday during t h a t per iod. I t was s a id t h a t t h e Lord

assumed a feroc ioue appearance i n is hunting dresa of a

l oose gown w i t h a sword awung in t h e b e l t , and His whole

body adorned w i t h f lowers and t h a t t he p r i e s t s were

f r i gh t ened by t h e Lord's look, Vyasathir tha s tepped in, and

o f f i c i a t e d a s t h e p r i e s t on each Thursday evening dur ing His

p u l a n g i Seva. A t t h e end of twelve years , he brought back

t h e u sua l calm look of t h e Godl and res to red His worship on

Thursday evenings t o t h e temple p r i e s t s who g l a d l y resumed

i t . v y a s a t h i r t h a d i d n a t a f te rwards d e s i r e t o worship ~ i m

d i r e c t l y i n t h e sanctum. To t h i s day, t h e devotees of

Madhava community assembled on a r a i s ed platform under a

pouch t o t h e no r th of t h e c e n t r a l s h r i n e j u s t fac ing Vimana

s r i n i v a s l and read puranas and held popular r e l i g i o u s

d i s c o u r s e s .