Lord Venkateshwara

Lord of 7 Hills

2009-05-10T07:01:00.015+05:30

THIS IS A RARE PHOTOGRAPH OF LORD VENKATESHWARA TAKEN INSIDE THE TEMPLE MANY YEARS AGO. IN THE HISTORY OF TIRUPATHI-TIRUMALA ONLY TWICE THE PHOTOS WERE ALLOWED TO BE TAKEN THIS PHOTO HERE IS ONE OF THEM.

"SRI MAAN VENKATARAMANA GOVINDA GOVINDA"

THE NAME OF GOD SHOULD ALWAYS BE CHANTED AND SPREAD
"SRI MAAN VENKATARAMANA GOVINDA GOVINDA"
IT IS BELIEVED THAT PASSING THIS MANTRA TO 7 PEOPLE BRINGS U GOOD LUCK, AND THE BLESSINGS OF LORD VENKATESHWARA, THE LORD OF 7 HILLS, THE LORD OF WEALTH.
Do forward this to your friends and relatives. To forward click on the message symbol box here.

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BRAMOTSAVAM

2009-05-10T06:59:00.002+05:30

Lord of 7 Hills

Brahmotsavam of Lord Venkateswara is the most glittering festival in the temple of Lord Venkateswara, the Lord of seven hills. The epithet Brahma itself signifies its grandeur and, rightly so, it draws multitudes of pilgrims from all over the country, transforming in the process the picturesque hill into a Kaliyuga Vaikuntha -a heaven on the earth.
More Images of Brahmotsavam
According to legends, when Goddess Lakshmi left Srivaikuntham in a huff unable to bear the insult of sage bhrigu kicking Lord Vishnu, her spouse, on his chest, which she considered her abode. The Lord unable bear the solitude, began searching for her. He wandered across hills and woods until he came across the beautiful Seshachala hills, now called the Tirumala hills. Finding the place salubrious and serene, he settled down in an anthill and has been worshiped there, ever since as Lord Venkateswara.
Lord Brahma , the supreme creator, commemorated the Lord Venkateswara's manifestation on earth with a grand celebration lasting 9 days and hence the name BRAHMOTSAVAM.
According to Varaha puranam ,the Brahmotsavam is performed in the month of Asweeja(Salivahana Calendar),when sun is in kanya rasi.

Brahmotsavam of Lord Venkateswara is the most glittering festival in the temple of Lord Venkateswara, the Lord of seven hills. The epithet Brahma itself signifies its grandeur and, rightly so, it draws multitudes of pilgrims from all over the country, transforming in the process the picturesque hill into a Kaliyuga Vaikuntha -a heaven on the earth.
More Images of Brahmotsavam
According to legends, when Goddess Lakshmi left Srivaikuntham in a huff unable to bear the insult of sage bhrigu kicking Lord Vishnu, her spouse, on his chest, which she considered her abode. The Lord unable bear the solitude, began searching for her. He wandered across hills and woods until he came across the beautiful Seshachala hills, now called the Tirumala hills. Finding the place salubrious and serene, he settled down in an anthill and has been worshiped there, ever since as Lord Venkateswara.
Lord Brahma , the supreme creator, commemorated the Lord Venkateswara's manifestation on earth with a grand celebration lasting 9 days and hence the name BRAHMOTSAVAM.
According to Varaha puranam ,the Brahmotsavam is performed in the month of Asweeja(Salivahana Calendar),when sun is in kanya rasi. It is September-October as per English calendar.
Preparatory to the festival, the interiors of the sanctum sanctorum and the small shrines around are cleaned and smeared with a rich paste made of sandalwood refined camphor, saffron and other spices. This ritual is known as Koil Alwar Thirumanjanam. It is followed by another ritual viz. Mritsangrahanam - the process of collecting earth- and this is done a day before the first day of the festival.The ritual signifies a prayer by the temple officials to the deities like Garuda, Sudarshana, Anantham and Vishavaksena to seek their help for the successful conduct of the Brahmotsavam. They also pray to the Bhooma Devi(mother earth) and collect a small quantity of the earth with which the Ankurarpanam ritual conducted by sowing nine kinds of cereals in it. Then Dhwajarohanam is performed signaling the start of the grand fete. The high priest of the temple hoists the flag carrying the picture of Garuda atop the Dhwajasthambham erected opposite the sanctum sanctorum.
Every day during the Festival both in the mornings and the evening the processional deity of Lord Venkateswara called Malayyapan Swamy, is taken in a colorful procession through the decorated four streets around the temple. The lords is flanked by his two consorts ,Sri Devi and Bhu Devi. Ugra Srinivasa and Koluvu Srinivasa (Durbar Srinivasa) are the two other images in the santum.All through the nine days the hill wears a colorful look with a sea of humanity thronging the place. The hill especially looks colorful during the night when giant profiles of the lord, made out of tiny electric bulbs light up. The Lord is taken in a procession on various vahanas and each vahana has its own significance and conveys his message in its own way.
The garuda seva performed on the night of the 5th day is the most popular amongst his devotees for on that day the lord is adorned with his most choicest and precious of his ornaments .Another equally important festival during the 9-day celebration is the Theru when the deities would be seated in a exquisitely carved huge wooden chariot and pulled round the temple by ardent devotees. Snapnam tirumanajanm , the process of bathing thee Lord with herbal water after the procession ,is performed to relieve him of the strains suffered during the processions .
The penultimate festival is the Chakrasnanam, which is akin to the bathing ritual after the performance of a yagna. On that morning the lord and his consorts and Sri Sudarshana Chakram are given a holy bath in the temple tank after an hour long ritual on the banks of the Pushkarini, the Temple tank. Scores of pilgrims waiting on the banks of the tank would also take a dip simultaneously along with the deities, creating a huge splash. This holy dip is supposed to free a mortal from the cycle of rebirth.
On the 9th day of the Brahmotsavam,chooranabhishekamis performed giving the deities a holy bath after anointing them with sandalwood powder .The Lord is then taken around in a procession when the priests distribute the sandalwood powder used for the ritual to the devotees en route. On this last day of Brahmotsavam, Devatodwasanam, the ritual of giving a warm send off to all Gods and rishis on their way back to heaven, is performed. In this ritual Lord Brahma is propitiated for having come to earth all the way from Brahmaloka and having performed the Brahmotsavam.
The celestial celebration is one of the important festivals of the temple. Pilgrims from all over the world, throng the place during this to have a glimpse of the lord during the procession. The sight of the Lord himself coming out of the Temple to be amongst his devotees is awe-inspiring.

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Srinivasa Kalyana

2009-05-10T06:43:00.003+05:30

Lord of 7 Hills

Tirupati, the Home of Lord Venkateswara has long been the destination of many a newly wed couple. The temple is believed to have a particular signification for newly weds as it is believed to be place where Lord Venkateswara married Padmavathy.
An interesting tale forms the backdrop to the temple. Quarrels are not unknown between happily wed couples and the divine ones are no different. Following a spat with Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi left her heavenly abode and came down to the earth. Here she stayed in a hermitage on the banks of the Godavari.
Missing his beloved, Lord Vishnu went to search of her and this search brought him to earth. Ultimately his quest brought him to the Seshadri hills where he stopped to rest in an anthill. Upset by the separation between Vishnu and Lakshmi, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva decided to intervene. Taking the guise of a cow and a calf they went to live at the place of a Chola king.
The cowherd took them everyday to graze in the Seshadri hills where the cow would secretly visit the anthill where Vishnu was living without sustenance. Emptying her milk, the cow would then return to the palace.
The cowherd was angry as the cow never yielded any milk to him. He watched movements carefully and his explorations brought him to the anthill. In trying to ascertain what lay beneath the anthill, he struck it with an axe thus injuring Vishnu on the forehead.
In search of herbs to heal the wound, Lord Vishnu wandered far and wide. His wanderings brought him to the Shrine of Sri Varahaswamy - the third incarnation of Vishnu as a boar. Here, he sought permission to stay, but Varahaswamy wanted a rental to be paid; Vishnu pleaded that he was poor now and needed rent free accommodation. To reciprocate this gesture of goodwill, he said he would tell his devotees to worship Varahaswamy before they worshipped him. The contract sealed, Vishnu built a hermitage and lived there waited on by a devotee, Vakuladevi who looked after him like a mother. In a nearby kingdom ruled King Akasha Rajan. Childless for many years, he had one day found a beautiful baby girl sleeping on a golden lotus in a golden box while ploughing the fields. He had named her Padmavathy. A beautiful and accomplished girl, Padmavathy had been granted a boon in her earlier birth that she would be married to Lord Vishnu. One day, Vishnu, who had been renamed Srinivasan by his devotee and foster mother Vakuladevi, went hunting in the forest. His wandering led him to a garden with a pond. Srinivasan was thirsty and tired. After drinking from the pond, he rested in the shade of a tree. Soon the soft singing of Padmavathy who was dancing in the garden with her companions roused him. He was stunned by her beauty and drawn to her. She too seemed to be drawn to him, but the angry attendants thinking him a mere hunter drove him away.
Depressed and unhappy he poured his troubles out to Vakuladevi. Now for the first time, he revealed to her who he really was and also told her the story of Padmavathy.
In the meanwhile, Padmavathy was dreaming of Srinivasa. She had no idea who he really was and knew that her parents would never let her be married to a hunter.
Srinivasa urged Vakuladevi to approach Padmavathy's father, Akasha Raja, with the marriage proposal. In the meanwhile he disguised himself as a soothsayer and went to the court of Akasha Raja. There, he assured Padmavathy that the hunter she had fallen in love with was no ordinary man but the Lord and told her that the worries would soon be over. Padmavathy too poured out her heart to her parents. At about the same time, Vakuladevi arrived with the marriage proposal. After consulting with the sages Akasha Raja accepted the proposal and invited Srinivasa to attend the wedding on Friday, the 10th day of Vaikasi.
Srinivasa now had arrangements to make. He sought a loan of one crore and 14 lakh coins of gold from Kubera and had Viswakarma, the divine architect create heavenly surroundings in the Seshadri hills.
The day of the wedding arrived, Lord Srinivasa was bathed in holy waters and dressed in jeweled ornaments befitting a royal bride groom. Then he set off in a procession for the court of Akasha Raja. There Padmavathy waited radiant in her beauty. Srinivasa was hailed with an arthi and led to the marriage hall. There the queen and King washed his feet while sage Vasishta chanted the Vedic mantras. Soon the wedding was over and it was time for Padmavathy to take leave of her parents.
Together, they lived for all eternity while Goddess Lakshmi, understanding the commitments of Lord Vishnu, chose to live in his heart forever.
Tirupati, today, stands as a special place, commemorating the marriage between the two. Everyday, a kalyana utsavam celebrates the divine union in a celebration that stretches to eternity. Even today, during the Brahmotsavam at the temple, turmeric, kumkum and a sari are sent from the temple to Tiruchanur, the abode of Padmavathy. In fact Tirupati is rarely visited without paying a visit to Tiruchanur.
In the light of this background, it has become the favored destination of many newly wed couples who pray for a happy wedding - a wedding like that of Srinivasa and Padmavathy.

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Histroy of 7 Hills

2009-05-10T06:41:00.003+05:30

Lord of 7 Hills

Vayu (God of Wind) and Seshu (the snake on whom Lord Vishnu resides in Vaikuntham) fights with each other on the issue of 'who is the strongest?'. Seshu says that he is the greatest and strongest because he has Lord Vishnu on him taking rest! He bears the great God, so he is greatest. Then Narada enters the scene. To decide who is the strongest, Narada asks Vayu first to lift a large mountain and throw it away. Then comes the turn of Seshu who has to lift the mountain and throw it away. Even on exerting great force, Seshu could not lift it but he himself becomes a victim, of the great weight of mountain which falls on him. Seshu, who is hitherto living under the mirage of ego of himself being the strongest, prays Lord Vishnu and asks Him to regain him from the mighty mountain. Lord Vishnu thereby saves Seshu, who now prays the Lord to be seated on him again, as usual. Lord Vishnu asks him to wait until He reincarnates on the Earth as Srinivasa.
Seshadri, one of the seven sacred hills, is the mountain on which Lord Venkateswara stands now in Tirumala.

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Histroy

2009-05-10T06:31:00.005+05:30

The Lord Sri Venkateswaraswamy is the all-pervading Lord of the Universe.

Tirumala’s Balaji shrine is among the more famous temples of India. It reportedly attracts the largest number of pilgrims for any shrine in India. It also has a reputation of being one of the richest shrines in the world. It is managed by Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).
The history of the temple dates back to as far as 9th Century A.D, when Pallavas, the rulers of Kancheepuram, patronized this shrine. But it was not until the time of Vijayanagara dynasty in 15th Century AD that the temple got recognition, and the contributions started pouring in.
In 1933, the Madras government took over and handed the reins of administration to an autonomous body known as the Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) Committee.
Again in 1951, the TTD was reconstituted with a board of trustees, while an Executive Officer operated as its administrative head.

Temple

2009-05-10T06:17:00.006+05:30

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