Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple
History of the Temple
Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple is one of the oldest and the most
famous temples of India. It is situated in the Tirumala, a hill town
near Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. The Tirumala Hill
consists of seven peaks which represent seven heads of Adisesha (the
first serpent) and hence this hill is also known as Seshachalam Hills.
The seven peaks are namely Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri,
Vrushabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. The temple is on the seventh
peak, Venkatadri and known as “Temple of Seven Hills”. It lies on the
southern ridge of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a sacred holy tank.Lord
Venkateshwara means the supreme god who destroys the sins of the people
in this material world. He is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
There are several myths and legends related to the origin of the
temple. The exact period is not known in which the temple was founded
and it is believed that the temple is Swayambhusthala, means it came
into existence on its own without anyone constructing it. Numerous
temple inscriptions from the 9th and 10th century records details of the
temple with contributions made by both Pallava and Chola Kings. As per
believers, there was only one shrine at Tirumala. When Ramanuja, a
Vaishnav Saint visited Andhra in 12th century, the temple at Tirupati
was built. The Chola period saw the temple prosper and expand further.
When Srirangam was invaded by Malik Kafur in 1310-11 AD, their presiding
deity, Ranganatha Swamy was sheltered in the Ranga Mandapam of the
temple. In 1517, Shree Krishna devaraya of the Vijayanagar dynasty, on
his one of the visits to the temple donated gold and rich jewels
enabling the inner shrine roofing, Vimana to be glided. He had statues
of himself and his spouse installed at the portals of the temple and
these statues can be seen today also. After the decline of Vijayanagar
Empire, the kings from Mysore and Gadwal state also gave valuables to
the temple. Then, Maratha general Raghoji Bhonsle visited the temple and
for the conduct of worship in the temple, set up a permanent
administration. Raja Todarmal, revenue minister of Mughal Emperor Akbar
also visited this holy place and you can see his idol in the premises of
the temple.
In 1843, with the rise of East India Company and coming of Madras
presidency, SevaDossji of the Hathiramji Muttwas entrusted to the
administration of the temple and number of shrines as Vicaranakarta for
nearly a century until the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) was
established in 1932 which was passed by Madras Legislature.
TTD committee was controlled by the commissioner appointed by Government
of Madras and was invested with powers of administration. After
Independence, Tirupati was integrated to newly formed Andhra state by
the Government of India.TTD is now operated by the Board of Trustees
which are fifteen in size, they not only oversees the financial aspect
of the temple but also involved in various social, religious and
educational activities all over India.
Features of the Temple
The Vimanam houses the main deity, Lord Venkateshwara. It is a
monumental tower with a golden roof. The diety stands directly below a
dome called Ananda Nilaya Divya Vimana. The magnificent deity, known as
the Mulaberam, is said to be self-manifested and there is no evidence of
any human being known to have installed it in the shrine. Lord’s black
idol wears a gold crown with an emerald embedded on it and on special
occasions, he is bestowed with diamond crown. He bears Goddess Lakshmi
on his right chest and Goddess Padmavati on his left chest. He has
Yajnopavita flowing down from his left shoulder. The idol is fully
decorated with gold ornaments only. Pilgrims are not allowed to enter
Vimanam or Garbha Gruham beyond the Kulasekhara Path.The main stone
deity which is about 8 feet from toes to top of crown of Lord
Venkateshwara known as Dhruva Beram is considered as the main source of
energy in the temple. Other deities in the temples are namely
BhogaSrininvasa, Ugra Srinivasa, Utsava Beram and Koluvu Beram.
The temple is the second richest pilgrimage centre after Shree
Padmanabha swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It is the most
visited place of worship in the world. The temple is visited by lakhs of
pilgrims daily and on special occasions like Brahmotsavam; number of
pilgrims shoots up to 5 lakhs on a single day. This temple is a fine
example of Dravidian style of art and architecture. It is also an
important center for wood carving. The world famous TirupatiLaddu is
given at temple as prasadam. Many devotees have their head go baldas an
offering to God. Hundi collection is the most important temple activitiy
among all. Everyday thousands of devotees offer gold to God as a token
of love. It is the highest income generating activity in temple which
goes as high as 23 million per day.
Best Time to Visit:
September to March
Official Website
For more details about the temple, visit
www.tirumala.org
Transportation
By Foot
There are two paths to travel on foot from Tirupati to Tirumala. One
is Alipiri Muttu which is situated at the foothills of Tirumala, passes
through Tirumala deer park and is 11km long. Other one is Srivari Muttu,
originating at Srinivasa Mangapuram about 15km from Tirupati and is 2.1
km long. Srivari Muttu is the most preferred by pilgrims among the two.
By Air
Tirupati Airport is located at Renigunta, 40km away from Tirumala.
Regular flights are available from Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
Nearest International Airport is Chennai (140km), which is connected to
all major cities of India and abroad.
By Train
Nearest Railway Station is at Tirupati, 25 km away, which connected
with all the major cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,
Kolkata, Bengaluru and Madurai. Renigunta is also a major rail head
nearby, as it is located on Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram route, which is
connected to all cities in India by rail.
By Road
TTD arranges buses between Tirumala and Tirupati with a frequency of
every 2 minutes. Taxis are also available from Tirupati to Tirumala.
APSRTC and KSRTC buses connect all towns in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka
with Tirupati. Many tourist service providers arrange package tours to
Tirupati from Bangalore (Rs 350), Chennai (Rs 250) and Hyderabad (Rs
600). The charge is about Rs 4-5 per km per person.
