Volume 16 : July 2008

This is a continuation on Swamiji’s trip to India, where he had the good fortune to visit 6 pilgrimages.

This edition portrays Swamiji’s visit to the holy place of Tirumala Tirupati.

 

Tirumala Tirupati

Swamiji had visited Tirupati Balaji before, but this visit to the divine pilgrimage was an exhilarating experience for him altogether. He got a fine glimpse of Lord Venkateswara within an hour's time of arrival, which is miraculous considering the usual awaiting hours for 'darshan' is 4-5 hours.

The ancient and sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara is located on the seventh peak, Venkatachala (Venkata Hill) of the Tirupati Hill, and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini. It is by the Lord's presidency over Venkatachala, that He has received the appellation - 'Venkateswara' (Lord of the Venkata Hill) and is also called the 'Lord of the Seven Hills'.

The temple of Sri Venkateswara has acquired unique sanctity in Indian religious lore. The Sastras, Puranas, Sthala Mahatyams and Alwar hymns unequivocally declare that, in the Kali Yuga, one can attain mukti, only by worshipping Venkata Nayaka or Sri Venkateswara.

The benefits acquired by a pilgrimage to Venkatachala are mentioned in the Rig Veda and Asthadasa Puranas. In these epics, Sri Venkateswara is described as the great bestower of boons. There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the Lord at Tirumala. The temple has its origins in Vaishnavism, an ancient sect which advocates the principles of equality and love, and prohibits animal sacrifice. The sanctum sanctorum which houses the awe-inspiring idol of the Lord of the Seven Hills is situated in the main temple complex of Tirumala. Tirumala in itself is a wonderful concoction of scenic beauty and spirituality. It is an astounding sight to discover a city on top pf the hills.

The worship in the temple is performed by Sri-sampradaya Vaishnava Brahmins, in the line of Ramanujacarya. The Venkateswara temple is 126.5m (414 ft) long, 80m (263 ft) wide, and covers an area of 2.2 acres.

Sri Balaji's eyes are covered with the wide Ramanuja tilaka. Many people consider that one's life is not successful without visiting this temple at least once.

Lord Venkateswara is an impressive 2 metre (6 feet) high Deity, who stands on a lotus that is placed directly on the ground. Lord Venkateswara is a self-manifested Deity. Balaji is made of a jet-black stone. His diamond crown, consists of a big emerald called "Meru Pacha", which is 3 inches in diameter and is considered to be the biggest emerald in the world.

This form of the Lord is known for fulfilling any desire a devotee may express to Him. It is also said that His eyes are covered because His gaze would scorch the entire world. His presence is very powerful as all of us could feel the vibrations.

 

The story Of Tirupathi Temple

Around 300 AD, the shepherds found a big stone (black granite or so) in the forests of Tirupathi and who ever sits near the stone or on it , used to behave peculiarly and wisely. After some time, they made a Sakthi (goddess kali) idol from the stone and worshiped it. But the devotees used to become frenzy when they stood in front of the idol and used to cut many goats as sacrifice. After some decades, the great Hindu sage Ramanujacharya came there and after witnessing the situation decided to change the idol from Sakthi to Venkateswara to avoid the animal sacrifice.

Even today when you stand in front of the stone, you can feel the divine vibrations. That's why the idol is specially worshipped on Friday, which is very auspicious for Shakti. The idol still has some feminine marks and a ring on His nose. The worshipping methods are highest in standard and as per aagama Shasta (as per definitions in Vedas).

Lord Venkateswara is the Lord for the present 'Kal' yug. He is famous with other names like lord Balaji and Govinda. The temple is said to receive highest earnings in the world. The sorroundings of Tirupathi awoke the waves of Bhakti on Lord Venkateswara Swamy and the name Govinda will be always sung on the tongues of the bhaktas.

 

Other places to Visit

Sri Varahaswami Temple

Sri Varahaswami Temple in Tirumala is to the north of the Sri Venkateswara Temple, on the banks of Swami Pushkarini. According to legend, Tirumala was originally Adi Varaha Kshetra (the home of Sri Adi Varaha Swami), and it was with his permission that Lord Sri Venkateswara took up residence here.

According to the Brahma Purana, pilgrims should first offer naivedyam to Sri Adi Varaha Swami, before visiting the Sri Venkateswara Temple. And as per Atri Samhita (Samurtarchanadhikara), the Varaha avatara is worshipped in three forms:

• Adi Varaha
• Pralaya Varaha
• Yajna Varaha

The idol of Sri Varahaswami in Tirumala is that of Adi Varaha, as it resembles the description of the Adi Varaha murti in Vaikhanasa Agama texts.

Sri Bedi Anjaneyaswami Temple

Sri Bedi Anjaneyaswami Temple is located on Sannidhi Street, opposite the main temple. (In the Vaishnavite tradition, it is customary to have either Garuda or Anjaneya opposite the main temple.)

The idol of Sri Anjaneya is shown with its hands folded in supplication (the Anjali pose). Sri Anjenaya is a devotee of Sri Rama, just as Garuda is of Sri Maha Vishnu. Abhishekam is performed every Sunday and special offerings are made on Hanuman Jayanti.

 

 

Swami Pushkarini

Swami Pushkarini was originally in Vaikuntam and belonged to Sri Maha Vishnu. It was set on Earth by Garuda, for the sport of Sri Venkateswara. It is adjacent to the Sri Venkateswara temple.

Pilgrims bathe here before entering the main temple.

The mukkoti of Swami Pushkarini (the merging of over three crore teerthams in Swami Pushkarini) occurs on Mukkoti Dwadasi (the twelfth day of the fortnight of Dhanur Masa). Therefore, it is believed that bathing in the Swami Pushkarini on this day, is equivalent to bathing in the holy river, Ganges.

On the western bank of the Swami Pushkarini is the Sri Varahaswami temple, while on its southern bank is the Sri Venkateswara temple.

The wooden-float festival of Lord Sri Venkateswara in the month of February/March and Avabhrudhasnanam or Chakrasnanam during Brahmotsavam takes place in the Swami Pushkarini.

 

Lord Venkateswara Speciality

Lord Venkateswara had taken loan from the god of riches Kubera for his marriage and pledged that he would be paying off the interest on the loan from the collections of Tirupati temple. So, if you pray to Him that you will offer some portion of the money from the doubtful deal, you would receive the money in such a way that you would realize that it could only be possible through his help and grace. It is an amazing sight to witness the millions of donations in the form of jewellery, clothes etc. This is possible only through the form of Lord venkateswara of Tirupathi and he is pleased when they visit Him and pay off his portion. No body can command God to be like this way or that way. We have to observe what is happening around and learn about His ways.

 

Legend- The Srinivasa Kalyanam Story

The Rishis headed by Kasyapa began to perform a sacrifice (yaga) on the banks of the Ganges. Sage Narada visited them at that time and asked them to tell him why they were performing the sacrifice and who would be pleased by it. Not being able to answer the question the Rishis approached Sage Bhrigu, who went to Satyaloka (the abode of Lord Brahma).

There, he found Brahma reciting the four Vedas with his four heads in praise of Lord Narayana and attended upon by Sarasvati and he did not take notice of Bhrigu offering obeisance. Concluding that Brahma was unfit for worship, Bhrigu left Brahmaloka for Kailasa. At Kailasa, Bhrigu found Lord Siva spending his time pleasantly with Parvati and not noticing the Sage Bhrigu. Parvati drew the attention of Siva to the presence of the sage.

Lord Siva became furious at the intrusion of Bhrigu and tried to destroy him. The sage cursed and left for Vaikuntham, where Srimannarayana was reposing at that time on Adisesha with Sri Mahalakshmi at His feet in service. Finding that Srimannarayana also did not notice him, the sage was infuriated and he kicked the Lord on His chest, the place where Mahalakshmi resides.

At once the Lord hastened to make apologies to the angry Sage and pressed his feet to allay the pain caused to the leg. In doing so the Lord removed the eye in the foot of the Sage, which gave him power as to defy the Devas. The Sage thereupon decided that Sri MahaVishnu was the most Supreme of the Trimurtis and told the Rishis the same. They there upon decided that Sri MahaVishnu was the fruit of the Yaga and sacrifice was offered to Him (Vishnu).

At the commencement of the present Sveta Varaha Kalpa, the whole Universe was filled with water and the earth was immersed in it. Lord Vishnu took to form of a White Boar and dived into the water to lift the earth. He slew the demon Hiranyaksha who caused obstruction to him and rescued the earth. Brahma and the other Devas extolled Sri Varaha at the time with the chanting of the Vedas and showered flowers on him for saving the Earth. Lord Vishnu decided to stay on Earth in the form of the White Boar for some time, to punish the wicked and protect the virtuous. This place thenceforward came to be known as Varaha Kshetra and Varaha Kalpa began from that time.

After the departure of Mahalakshmi, Lord Vishnu left Vaikuntha in a forlorn condition and took his abode in an ant-hill on the Venkata Hill under a tamarind tree beside a Pushkarini. Brahma and Mahesvara, taking pity on the condition of Vishnu, made up their mind to assume the forms of a cow and its calf to serve him.

The Sun God informed Mahalakshmi of this and requested her to sell the cow and calf to the king of the Chola country assuming the form of a cowherdess. The king of the Chola country bought the cow and its calf and sent them to graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of cattle. Discovering Lord Vishnu in the ant-hill, the cow everyday emptied her under over the ant-hill and thus fed the Lord.

Finding that the cow did not yield any milk, the Chola Queen chastised the cowherd severely. To find out the cause of the absence of milk, the cowherd followed the cow and hid himself in a bush and discovered the cow emptying her under over the ant-hill. Getting wild over the conduct of the cow, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow. But the God rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow. When the cowherd saw the Lord bleed at the blow of his axe he fell down and died.

On the death of the cowherd, the cow returned bellowing to the presence of the Chola King with blood stains over her body. To find out the cause of the terror of the cow the Chola King followed her to the scene of the incident. Near an ant-hill, the King found the cowherd lying dead on the ground. While he stood wondering how it had happened, the Lord rose from the ant-hill and cursed the king to become an Asure from the fault of his servant. Entreated by the king who pleaded innocence, the Lord blessed him by saying that His curse would end when He was adorned with the Kireetam presented by Akasa Raja at the time of His marriage with Sri Padmavati.

Thereafter Srinivasa decided to stay in this Varaha Kshetra. He therefore requested Sri Varahaswami to grant Him a site for His stay. His request being readily granted, Srinivasa ordained that a pilgrimage to His shrine would not be complete unless it is preceded by a bath in the Pushkarini and Darsan of Sri VarahaSwami, and that Puja and Naivedyam should be offered to Sri Varaha first.

Yasoda brought up Sri Krishna, the son of Devaki, in his early years. Yasoda was not blessed to witness the marriage of Sri Krishna with Rukmini and she felt very sad. Sri Krishna promised to fulfil her desire in her next birth as Vakuladevi in his next Avatara as Srinivasa. This Vakuladevi was sent to serve Srinivasa by Lord Varahasvami, on whom she was attending till Srinivasa came to Venkatachala. Sometime after, a King named Akasa Raja who belonged to the Lunar race was ruling over Thondamandalam. He had a brother named Thondaman. Akasa Raja had no issue for a long time and so he wanted to perform a sacrifice for obtaining an offspring. While he was himself ploughing and ground for sacrifice, his plough turned up a lotus in the ground. On examining the lotus, the King found a female child in it. The king was happy to find a child even before he performed a sacrifice and carried it to his place and gave it to his Queen to tend it. At that time he heard an aerial voice which said "O King, tend it as your child and fortune will befall you". As she was found in a lotus, the king named her Padmavati.

In course of time Princess Padmavati grew up into a beautiful maiden and was attended by a host of maids. One day while she was spending her time in a garden picking flowers with her maids, Saint Narada approached her. Assuring her that he was her well-wisher, he asked her to show him her palm to read her future. He foretold that she was destined to be the spouse of Lord Vishnu himself. At this time Lord Srinivasa, who went for hunting chased a wild elephant in the forests surrounding the hills. In the pursuit, Srinivasa was led into a garden, where Princess Padmavati and her maids were picking flowers. The sight of the elephant frightened them and their Princess. But the Elephant immediately turned round and saluted the Lord and disappeared in the forest.Lord Srinivasa came on horse back and saw the frightened maidens and he was accosted by them with queries.

Lord Srinivasa had explained them about his birth and parentage. He enquired them about their princess and her parentage and birth. When he was informed that the Princess was Padmavati (lotus-Born) the foster Daughter of Akasaraja, he loved her and made advances to the Princess. He was repulsed with stones by the maids and he urgently returned to the hills leaving the horse, which fell on the ground.

Vakuladevi, as usual, brought dinner to Srinivasa comprising various delicious dishes. But she found him lying on his bed love-sick. She enquired the cause of his sickness. The Lord informed her that unless he secured Princess Padmavati, he would not be well. Vakuladevi then asked him to tell her all about the Princess, who she was, and how he came to love her. The Lord then narrated the story of her (Padmavati's) previous birth and his promise to wed her.

In olden times Lakshmi was staying as Vedavati in a Rishi Asrama in the forests. At that time Ravana, the lord of Lanka came there and tried to tempt her. Vedavati grew angry and cursed him that she would bring about his death. To fulfil her words, Vedavati entered into the fire but the fire-god rescued her. He took Vedavati to his house and entrusted her to his wife to take care of her. When Ravana was about to carry away Sita from Panchavati in the absence of Rama and Lakshmana, the Fire-God appeared on the scene and offered Vedavati to Ravana as the real Sita who was kept with him by Rama to evade Ravana. Ravana took Vedavati to Lanka thinking she was the real Sita, while Agni(Fire-God) took Sita to his house and asked his wife Swahadevi to look after her. After the destruction of Ravana, Vedavati entered the fires when rejected by Rama. Then the Fire-God offered the real Sita to Rama. Rama then questioned her as to who the other lady by her side was. Sita informed Rama that she was Vedavati who suffered all the tortures for her sake for ten months in Lanka and requested Rama to accept her also as his spouse. But Rama declined her request saying that he was wedded to policy of having only one wife during his life time, and he promised to wed her in her next birth as Padmavati, born as the daughter of Akasaraja when he will take the form of Srinivasa.

There upon Vakuladevi thought that Srinivasa would not be happy unless he married Padmavati and she offered to go to Akasaraja and his queen and arrange for the marriage. On the way she met the maid-servants of Padmavati returning from a Siva Temple. She learnt from them about Padmavathi's love-sickness and went to the queen along with them. Akasaraja and his queen Dharanidevi became anxious about the health of their daughter. They learnt about Padmavati's love for Srinivasa of Venkata Hill. Akasaraja consulted Brihaspati about the propriety of the marriage and was informed that the marriage was in the best interests. After the departure of Vakuladevi, Srinivasa could not rest in peace. He doubted her success in the mission. He therefore assumed the form of a Yerukula-woman and entered the streets of the capital telling fortunes. Padmavati's maids saw her and invited her to the presence of their queen. The maid-servants went and informed the queen that the fortune-teller was hesitating to come into the palace without an invitation from the queen. The queen came out herself and invited the fortune-teller into the palace.The fortune-teller was taken to the presence of Princess Padmavati. The fortune-teller saw the palm of the Princess and told the queen about the cause of Padmavati's indisposition and advised to give her in marriage to Lord Srinivasa. She also told the queen that a lady would approach her shortly to formally request Padmavati's hand in marriage on behalf of Srinivasa. After the departure of the fortune-teller, Vakuladevi went to the queen along with the maids and informed her that she came from Srinivasa to request the hand of Padmavati in marriage for him.

Having consulted Brihaspati and heard from his queen about the prediction of the fortune-teller and arrival of the messenger, from Srinivasa, Akasaraja decided to bestow his daughter on Srinivasa and he called the palace purohits to fix a Muhurtam for the marriage. Akasaraja informed his Ministers and other Officials of his intention. Immediately a letter was drafted for being sent to Srinivasa requesting him to come and marry the Princess. Akasaraja entrusted the letter to Sukamahamunin for being delivered to Srinivasa. Suka went to Venkata Hill with Vakulamalikadevi. He presented the Patrika to Lord Srinivasa, who felt pleased and sent his garland through him for Padmavati. Immediately Lord Srinivasa called for a conference of the Gods to win their consent for His marriage with Princess Padmavati. To meet the expenses of the marriage, Kubera lent money to the Lord. Lord Srinivasa started for the residence of Akasaraja with his consorts and Brahma and Siva and his vehicle Garutman. At the entrance the Lord was received by Akasaraja with all honours and was taken in procession on a mounted elephant to the palace for the marriage. In the presence of all the Devas, Lord Srinivasa took the hand of the Princess Padmavati and wedded her and thus blessed Akasaraja.

JAI HANUMAN !!