Tirupati
- Vishnu (Perumal) Temple
Chitoor district of Andhra Pradesh
The temple
of Lord Venkateswara on Tirumala is the richest temple in the world, located
in the holy town of Tirupati in Chitoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
The temple
is located atop one of a range of seven hills - Seshadri, Garudadri, Venkatadri,
Narayanadri, Vrishabhadri, Vrishadri and Anjanadri.
Srivari Padala Mandapam at Alipiri
is at the foot of the Tirumala Hills where the Lord Himself appeared.
Pilgrims commence their trek to Tirumala after offering prayers at this
temple. Huge padukas offered by devotees to the Lord are displayed
here. There is another stepway to Tirumala near Chadragiri used by
devotees who climb the Seven Hills on foot.
Daily rituals at the Tirumala
temple
Tirumala temple rituals are performed
as ordained by Sri Ramanuja.
| Suprabhatam - Rendering of the awakening
song |
| Nijapada Darshanam - Exposing the Lord's feet for Darshan |
| Suddhi - Cleaning of the Sanctum |
| Thomala Seva - Renewal of flowers adorning the
Lord |
| Kolu or Durbar - Kolu Srinivasa presides at Mani
Mandapam. After Dana the Panchangam for the day is read out and the
Jeer's accountant announces the previous day's Hundi collection |
| First Archana - Sahasranama Archana performed with
Nakshatra and Karpura Aarati |
| First Bell - AfterSuddhi, Bali and Sattumora
is performed |
| Sarva Darshan - Free darshan of the Lord and distribution
of prasadam to devotees |
| Second Bell - After Suddhi, Kainkaryam - food
offering to the Lord |
| Sarva Darshan - Free darshan of the Lord |
| Suddhi - Cleaning of the sanctum for the
night Kainkaryam |
| Night Kainkaryam - Thomala Seva, Archana and Naivedyam
performed |
| Sarva Darshan - Free darshan of the Lord |
| Ekanta Seva - Putting the Lord to bed in a cradle |
Important Festivals/ Dates on
Tirumala
New Year -
December 31 and January
1 |
Makara Sankranti -
January 14 - 15 |
| Ugadhi Asthanam - March /April - 1 day |
| Aanivara Asthanam - June / July - 1 day |
| Pavitrotsavam - August - 3 days |
| Brahmotsavam - September / October - 10 days |
| Pushpayagaml - November /December - 1 day |
| Vasantotsavam - Three days a year |
Arjitha Sevas like Kalyanotsavam,
Vahana Sevas and Unjal Seva are not performed during the above festival
days. Sravana Nakshatram being the birht star of Lord Venkateswara,
special programmes will be conducted on Tirumala on the days of the star.
Ekantha Seva is performed at 10.30pm
everyday subject to rush. A velvet bed is spread on a swing and the Lord's
Murti is placed on it. A descendant of Tallapaka Annamacharya's family
sings keertanas.
Offering hair
Tonsure and Tirumala go together
Devotees vow and offer their hair to the Lord - a symbolic sacrifice of
the ego. Tonsure is done at Kalyana Katta. It is followed by a holy
dip in the Pushkarini and the devotees then proceed to the temple for darshan.
Inside the temple
The first step, the entry into the
Temple proper, is through the Mahadwaram on the East Mada street. Upon
entry through the Mahadwaram you come into the Pratima Mandapam where the
statues of Sri Krishnadevaraya, emperor of Vijayanagaram and his two consorts
has been installed. To the left is the 'Tulabharam', scales upon
which materials are weighed against the devotees for being offered in the
temple. There is a shrine of Sri Ranganatha in a Mandapam called
Ranganayaka Mandapam where Vahanas of the temple are kept now.
The next point is the Tirumalanayaka
Mandapam with beautiful carvings. A statue of Raja Todarmul, a general
of the Karnatak Nawab, and statues of his mother and his wife are found
in a corner of the mandapam.
The fully gold plated Dhwajasthambham
is in a mandapam containing carvings of Avatarams. From here you proceed
to teh inner gopuram on the inner prakara where you find to the left a
small but beautiful shrine of Sri Varadarajaswamy. To the left of
the shrine is the 'Potu' (kitchen) wherein a small shrine of Vakuladevi
is installed.
The next spot is the gold plated
well in the vicinity of the Potu known as Bangarubavi. As devotees
proceed from this spot, the mood is suddenly heightened and surcharged
with emotion. Shouts of 'Edukondalavada! Govinda! Govinda!' rend
the air.
Now you are nearing the Bangaruvakili
(the Golden Gate). As you turn into the Gate you find Lord Garuda
in a take-off posture with wings spread to carry the Lord on his immense
shoulders.
Immediately after this you reach
the Dwaarapaalakas, snetires on either side of the Bangaruvakili, the entrance
to the Sanctun Sanctorum. The long hours of wait and your inexhaustible
patience bear fruit now, as you are i the immediate presence of the Lord.
As you are having your fill of the darshan of the Lord, you are jolted
into hard reality and pused aside and away from the Presence with the interminable
'Jargani! Jargandi' (Move away!Move Away!) of the marshals. The rush
out of the sanctum deprives you of the vision of the great temple bells
just outside the Ardhamandapam. Teerthaprasadam is given outside
and Sataari placed on your head.
To your left on the corridor you
find the Parakamani in two sections, one for counting coins and the other
for currency notes. Just after the Parakamani is the old Kalyanamandapam
where tickets for the free meal provided by the TTD under the Nityannadana
Scheme are issued.
During Vimanapradakshina you reach
the northern side of Aanandanilayam and immediately you have darshan of
Vimana Venkatesa, a miniature representation of the main deity
Hundi
As part of fulfilment of their vow
to the Lord, devotees offer ornaments/money and drop the same in the Hundi,
which is located opposite Sri Ramanuja shrine.
Vishvaksena: Vishvaksena is
an attendat deity regarded as the commander of Sri Vishnu's troupes.
His shrine is located in the innder circuit of the northeastern corner
of the sanctum.
Towards the northeastern corner are
located Tallapaka Ara, known as Sankeertana Bhandaram, (the original repository
of Ammamacharya's copper plates), Sri Ramanuja's shrine and Sri Yoganarasimhaswamy's
shrine. In between is a stall selling golden Balaji dollars.
As you come out of the inner Prakaram and turn to your left you can collect
free Prasadam. Next you can reach Aiyana Mandapam (mirror hall).
Unjal Seva is performed in this mandapam. Now you cone out of the
temple complex into the Mada strret and collect laddu prasadam at the counters.
Malayappa Swamy
Malayappa Swamy is the four handed
Utsavamurti or the processional deity. Two of the hands hold the
Sankahm and the Chakram. The grandest period for Malayappa and his
consorts is the Car Festival.
Brahmotsavam
The Brahmotsavam or annual festival
is celebrated on Tirumala for nine days when the sun enters Kanya Rasi
from Aswayuja Shuddha Padyami to Aswayuja Shuddha Dasami during September
/October. This Utsavam is said to have been first celebrated by Brahma
Himself; hence the name. Every morning and evening Utsavamurtis are
taken around the temple on different Vahanams decorated in varied raiments,
glittering ornaments. The important festivals are the Garudotsavam
on the fifth day and the Rathotsavam or Car Festival on the eighth day.
Arjithabrahmotsavam can be celebrated by devotees upon payment on days
other than the days of the Brahmotsavam. In fact, no Arjitha Sevas
are performed during Brahmotsavam.
Annual Sevas & Utsavams
Float Festival
This festival is performed once
a year in February?march for five days.
Abhideyaka Abhishekam
This festivalis performed three
days a year, generally in the month of June.
Pushpa Pallaki
This seva is performed on Anivara
Asthanam day, generally in the month of July.
Padmavathi Parinayam
This seva is performed for 3 days
in the month of Vaisakaha (May/June)
Pushpayagam
This Utsavam is performed on Sravana
Nakshatram day after Brahmotsava.
Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam
This festival is performed four
times a year on the Tuesdays before Ugadi, Anivara Asthanam, Brahmotsavam
and Vaikunta Ekadasi.
Pavitrotsavam
This Utsavam is generally performed
in August every year for three days.
In and Around Tirumala
Sri Hathiramjee Mutt
Located on the South Mada street
in the vcinity of the main temple, this Mutt is an important place on Tirumala.
Hathiramjee was an ardent devotee of Sri Balaji and the Lord Himself is
belived to have visited his Mutt regularly. Dasavatara idols and
Sri Krishna temple inside the Mutt are worth visiting. The Hathiramjee
Mutt was taking care of the Tirumala temple prior to the formation of TTD
in 1933.
Bedi Anjaneya temple
This temple is located on Sannidhi
street near Asthana Mandapam.
Srivari Sikhara Darshanam
A fifteen minute walk from Varahaswamy
temple on the way to Dharmagiri brings you to this elevated view point.
Silathoranam is just another five minute walk from here.
Sila Thoranam
This geological arch is a very rare
spectacle in the world. This arch (older than the Jurassic age) is 25 ft
in length, 10 ft in height. Only two other similar formations are
known to exist in the world (in the UK and in the USA).
Dharmagiri
Two kilometers from Sila Thoranam
is the Veda Vignana Parishad (Schol for study of Vedic Sciences) on Dharmagiri
Hill established by TTD. An impressive idol of Brahma displaying
the four vedas welcomes the visitors at teh entrance. The traditional
Gurukulam Ashram surroundings and the rhythmic chanting of the Vedic hymns
by the students make the visitor feel the pulse of the vibrant culture
of the ancient Hindus.
Narayanagiri
After a ten minute walk from Shilathoranam
road, the visitor comes to a road junction. One road leads to Dharmagiri
and the other to the highest peak of Tirumala hills, Narayanagiri.
Shri Narayana Pada is found here. A scripture in the temple museum
describes this place as "it is an anthropological evidence of the hoary
antiquity of Tirumala. The wheel carved therein represents Narayana,
the aspects of Suryanarayana, worshipped by the early men".
All
details in this page have been provided from a booklet
"Come,
Let's go to Tirupati published by Sri Balaji Publications, Hyderabad
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