Legend of Tirumala
Encyclopedia
Sri Venkatachala Mahatyam is the most accepted legend with respect to Tirumala
, which provides the history of the temple across the various yuga
s.
Sri Maha Vishnu rescued Earth which was taken over by Hiranyaksha
to Patala Loka (underworld) in the form of Adi Varaha
- a wild boar with tusks. He fought a fierce duel with Hiranyaksa and killed him. He then slashed the water and brought up the Earth on his tusks. Brahma, the Devas and the sages extolled Adi Varaha's virtues, by chanting the Vedic mantras. They prayed to Him to re-establish the Earth as before. Adi Varaha obliged them, and called upon Brahma to recreate the world. He expressed his desire to reside on the Earth to protect its people. He commanded his vehicle, Garuda
to fetch Kridachala (an extensive natural hill with lofty peaks, embedded with gold and precious stones, and which resembled Adisesha in shape) from Vaikuntam. Garuda brought Kridachala and deposited it on a sacred spot (to the East of Swami Pushkarini) chosen by Adi Varaha. Brahma and the other holy personages requested the fearsome-looking Adi Varaha to assume a tranquil and composed look, and rest on the hill to protect men and grant boons to people unable to reach God through Dhyana Yoga (meditation) and Karma Yoga (doing one's own duty). Adi Varaha appeared with four arms and a white face. He was adorned with jewels and accompanied by Bhu Devi. He resolved to stay at Venkatadri, under a divya vimana, to grant the prayers of men.
(wind god) and Adisesha (first serpent). During Dvapara Yuga
, Vayu was barred from entering Vaikuntam as Lord Vishnu was in the company of his consort, Lakshmi
. An incesed Vayu challenged adisesha for a fight to decide the stronger between them, Vayu was tasked with trying to blow off adisesha from the holy Meru
mountain while adisesha was asked to protect the peak with his hood. After a long time, vayu gave way and adisesha lifted his hoods assuming that he won the contest when vayu blew off one of the peaks. The peak landed near swarnamukhi river and is currently known as seshachalam hill. A variant to the legend is that the contest created pandemonium on earth and Brahma
, Indra
and other gods pleaded with adisesha to relent. When adisesha oblidged, the peak (Ananda hill) and adisesha were blown off Meru and landed near the banks of river Swarnamukhi. When Adisesha was dejected with his defeat, the Gods converted adisesha into the seven hills with the hood named as Seshadri hill or Seshachalam hill or Venkatadri hill. Another variant to the story is that sesha was fatigued by the contest and was instructed by Lord Venkateswara to rest on Earth in a place that he chose for his stay in Kali Yuga
.
, rishis performing yagna sought the advise of celestial sage Narada
on which of the Trimurti
should be selected for offering the fruits of the yagna. Narada suggested that the wise sage Bhrugu
should be allowed to decide after he met the Trimurti
s. The sage who had an extra eye in the sole of his foot visited Lord Brahma
and Lord Shiva
and went un-noticed in both these locations. He cursed Brahma
that no temple sans one will worship Brahma and cursed Shiva
that temples on Earth will worship him as Lingam
.
When Bhrigu visited Lord Vishnu
who was in a private meeting with his consort Goddess Lakshmi
and failed to immediately receive and honour the sage, the sage felt humiliated and angry by this act. Sage Bhrigu kicked Lord Vishnu in the chest, to which Vishnu did not react and instead apologized to the Sage by massaging his feet. During this act, he squashed the extra eye that was present in the sole of Bhrugu's foot. The extra eye is believed to represent the sage's false egotism. The sage then realised his grave mistake and begged forgiveness from Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu's chest is significant as the abode of Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess felt highly insulted at the sage's misdemeanour and Lord Vishnu's silence at the act and left Lord Vishnu's heavenly abode (Vaikunta
)
After the departure of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu left Vaikuntham and took his abode in an ant-hill on the Venkata Hill under a tamarind tree beside a Pushkarini. Lord Brahma and Shiva
, taking pity on the condition of Vishnu, made up their mind to assume the forms of a cow and calf to serve him. Surya
- Sun God informed Lakshmi 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 Chola king sent the cow and its calf to graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of cattle. Discovering Lord Vishnu in the ant-hill, the cow everyday emptied her udder over the ant-hill and thus fed the Lord. Over a period ot time, the queen noticed that the cow did not yield any milk and chastised the cowherd severely.
The cowherd investigating the cause, followed the cow and discovered the cow emptying her udder over the ant-hill. In his anger, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow but struck God who rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow. On seeing Lord Vishnu bleeding, the cowherd fell down and died. On the death of the cowherd, the cow returned to the king with blood stains on her body, bellowing in the presence of the Chola King. An anxious king followed the cow to the scene of the incident. Near an ant-hill, the King found the cowherd lying dead on the ground.
While the King stood wondering how it had happened, the Lord rose from the ant-hill and cursed the king to become an Asura (Demon) for 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 (crown) presented by Akasa Raja at the time of His marriage with Sri Padmavati. To atone the sins of raising the axe against the Lord, the cowherd's atma (spirit) received the boon that he and his descendants would have the pleasure of opening the door in the Lord's temple in due time.
in her previous birth, Lord Krishna's foster-mother and was unhappy in that life for not seeing his marriage. As per the boon received from Krishna, she was re-born as Vakula.
In course of time Princess Padmavati grew up into a beautiful maiden and was visited by Saint Narada
. On reading her palm, he foretold that she was destined to be the spouse of Lord Vishnu himself. In due time, Lord Srinivasa on a hunting trip was chasing a wild elephant in the forest. The elephant led him into a garden where Princess Padmavati and her maids were present .The sight of the elephant frightened them and their Princess. When Lord Srinivasa appeared in front of the Elephant, it immediately turned round, saluted the Lord and disappeared into the forest. Lord Srinivasa noticed princess Padmavathi and enquired about her from her maids. Enthralled by her, Lord Srinivasa lost interest in other activities and confided in Vakula on his love for Padmavathi. He also revealed his identity as Lord Vishnu as well as told her about her past life as his foster-mother Yasodha.
Lord Srinivasa called for a conference of the Gods to win their consent for His marriage with Princess Padmavati. The Lord also obtained a heavy loan from Kubera
, god
of wealth in Hindu Mythology towards expenses for the wedding as well as provide proof of his wealth.
Rangadasa was a staunch devotee of Vishnu and in the course of his pilgrimage, joined Sage Vaikhanasa Gopinatha, who was going up the Tirumala Hill n for the worship of the Lord. This was after the Lord had settled the Adivaraha region. After bathing in the Swami Pushkarini, Rangadasa viewed Lord Vishnu beneath a tamarind tree. However Lord Vishnu was exposed to the sun, wind and rain and was only protected by the extended wings of Garuda. Rangadasa raised a rough wall of stones around the deity, and started supplying flowers to Gopinatha everyday for Vishnu's worship. One day, Rangadasa was distracted by a Gandharva king and his ladies and forgot to supply flowers to Gopinatha for Vishnu's worship. The Lord then revealed Himself and told Rangadasa that he had not been steadfast and had succumbed to temptation. However in acceptance of Rangadasa's devoted service to Him till then, and blessed Rangadasa that he would be reborn as an affluent ruler of a province and would enjoy the earthly pleasures. He would continue to serve the Lord, construct a beautiful temple with a vimana and high surrounding walls, and thereby earn eternal glory.
Soon the site was forgotten and an ant-hill formed over the temple. This is reputed to be the same ant-hill in which Lord Srinivasa resided later after descending from Vaikuntam.
(closed precincts of a temple) and dvara gopura, and arranged for regular worship of the Lord (according to Vaikhanasa Agama).
Lord Srinivasa appeared in the dream of Thondaman and asks him to build a temple for Him where He turned into stone. So comes into being the temple for Srinivasa on the seventh hill, named Venkatadri (Venkata Hill).
Srivaishnavite tradition opines that the Rig Veda verse X.155.1 makes an indirect reference to the temple. One such translation goes as: Thondaiman
, ruler of Thondaimandalam in the ancient Tamil nadu
(present day Kanchipuram
and the sourroundings), is believed to have first built the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in his dream. He built the Gopuram
and the Prakhara, and arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in the temple. Later on, the Chola dynasty vastly improved the temple and gave rich endowments. To date, the various Tamil
Grantha
scripts are still seen inscribed upon the temple prakara walls. The Sangam literature
of Tamil
such as that of Silapadikaram
and Satanar Manimekalai
, dated between 500BC and 300AD, mentions Thiruvengadam (now named Tirupati) by the appellation "Nediyon Kunram" as the northernmost frontier of the Tamil kingdoms. In fact, a fairly detailed description of the deity is given in lines 41 to 51 of Book 11 of the Silapadikaram. Again, the appellation "Nediyon" for the deity occurs in the following verses:
Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas
associate the site with Lord Varaha
, a Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha
shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. There is also the Ranga Mandapam, which is to the left side of the temple as one enters. This is where the main deity, Sri Ranganatha Swamy
of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple (Trichy), was protected for a period of almost 60 years during attacks by Malik Kafur
in the 14th century.
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple ), is a Hindu temple in the hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, South India. It is around from Chennai, from Hyderabad, and from Bangalore....
, which provides the history of the temple across the various yuga
Yuga
Yuga in Hindu philosophy is the name of an 'epoch' or 'era' within a cycle of four ages. These are the Satya Yuga, the Treta Yuga, the Dvapara Yuga, and finally the Kali Yuga. According to Hindu cosmology, life in the universe is created, destroyed once every 4.1 to 8.2 billion years, which is...
s.
Varaha Kshetra
Hiranyaksha
In Hinduism, Hiranyaksha [golden-eyed] was an Asura of pre-ancient India and the son of Diti and Kashyapa. He was slain by the god Vishnu after he took the Earth to the bottom of what has been described as the "Cosmic Ocean". His name in Sanskrit literally means "Goldeneye"...
to Patala Loka (underworld) in the form of Adi Varaha
Varaha
Varaha is the third Avatar of the Hindu Godhead Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to...
- a wild boar with tusks. He fought a fierce duel with Hiranyaksa and killed him. He then slashed the water and brought up the Earth on his tusks. Brahma, the Devas and the sages extolled Adi Varaha's virtues, by chanting the Vedic mantras. They prayed to Him to re-establish the Earth as before. Adi Varaha obliged them, and called upon Brahma to recreate the world. He expressed his desire to reside on the Earth to protect its people. He commanded his vehicle, Garuda
Garuda
The Garuda is a large mythical bird or bird-like creature that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology.From an Indian perspective, Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila and...
to fetch Kridachala (an extensive natural hill with lofty peaks, embedded with gold and precious stones, and which resembled Adisesha in shape) from Vaikuntam. Garuda brought Kridachala and deposited it on a sacred spot (to the East of Swami Pushkarini) chosen by Adi Varaha. Brahma and the other holy personages requested the fearsome-looking Adi Varaha to assume a tranquil and composed look, and rest on the hill to protect men and grant boons to people unable to reach God through Dhyana Yoga (meditation) and Karma Yoga (doing one's own duty). Adi Varaha appeared with four arms and a white face. He was adorned with jewels and accompanied by Bhu Devi. He resolved to stay at Venkatadri, under a divya vimana, to grant the prayers of men.
Legend of Seshachalam Hill
The origins of the Tirumala Hills lies in a contest between vayuVayu
Vāyu is a primary Hindu deity, the Lord of the winds, the father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman...
(wind god) and Adisesha (first serpent). During Dvapara Yuga
Dvapara Yuga
Dvapara Yuga or Dwapara Yuga is the third out of four yugas, or ages, described in the scriptures of Hinduism. This yuga comes after Treta Yuga and is followed by Kali Yuga...
, Vayu was barred from entering Vaikuntam as Lord Vishnu was in the company of his consort, Lakshmi
Lakshmi
Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
. An incesed Vayu challenged adisesha for a fight to decide the stronger between them, Vayu was tasked with trying to blow off adisesha from the holy Meru
Mount Meru (Mythology)
Mount Meru is a sacred mountain in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology as well as in Jain cosmology, and is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes...
mountain while adisesha was asked to protect the peak with his hood. After a long time, vayu gave way and adisesha lifted his hoods assuming that he won the contest when vayu blew off one of the peaks. The peak landed near swarnamukhi river and is currently known as seshachalam hill. A variant to the legend is that the contest created pandemonium on earth and Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
, Indra
Indra
' or is the King of the demi-gods or Devas and Lord of Heaven or Svargaloka in Hindu mythology. He is also the God of War, Storms, and Rainfall.Indra is one of the chief deities in the Rigveda...
and other gods pleaded with adisesha to relent. When adisesha oblidged, the peak (Ananda hill) and adisesha were blown off Meru and landed near the banks of river Swarnamukhi. When Adisesha was dejected with his defeat, the Gods converted adisesha into the seven hills with the hood named as Seshadri hill or Seshachalam hill or Venkatadri hill. Another variant to the story is that sesha was fatigued by the contest and was instructed by Lord Venkateswara to rest on Earth in a place that he chose for his stay in Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
.
Vaikuntam deserted
In the Kali YugaKali Yuga
Kali Yuga is the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas described in the Indian scriptures. The other ages are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga...
, rishis performing yagna sought the advise of celestial sage Narada
Narada
Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
on which of the Trimurti
Trimurti
The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer," These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or...
should be selected for offering the fruits of the yagna. Narada suggested that the wise sage Bhrugu
Bhrigus
Maharishi Bhrigu was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, in ancient India, one of the many Prajapatis created by Brahma , the first compiler of predictive astrology, and also the author of Bhrigu Samhita, the astrological classic written during the Vedic period, Treta yuga.Bhrigu is a...
should be allowed to decide after he met the Trimurti
Trimurti
The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver, and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer," These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or...
s. The sage who had an extra eye in the sole of his foot visited Lord Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
and Lord Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and went un-noticed in both these locations. He cursed Brahma
Brahma
Brahma is the Hindu god of creation and one of the Trimurti, the others being Vishnu and Shiva. According to the Brahma Purana, he is the father of Mānu, and from Mānu all human beings are descended. In the Ramayana and the...
that no temple sans one will worship Brahma and cursed Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
that temples on Earth will worship him as Lingam
Lingam
The Lingam is a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in temples....
.
When Bhrigu visited Lord Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....
who was in a private meeting with his consort Goddess Lakshmi
Lakshmi
Lakshmi or Lakumi is the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity , light, wisdom, fortune, fertility, generosity and courage; and the embodiment of beauty, grace and charm. Representations of Lakshmi are also found in Jain monuments...
and failed to immediately receive and honour the sage, the sage felt humiliated and angry by this act. Sage Bhrigu kicked Lord Vishnu in the chest, to which Vishnu did not react and instead apologized to the Sage by massaging his feet. During this act, he squashed the extra eye that was present in the sole of Bhrugu's foot. The extra eye is believed to represent the sage's false egotism. The sage then realised his grave mistake and begged forgiveness from Lord Vishnu.
Lord Vishnu's chest is significant as the abode of Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess felt highly insulted at the sage's misdemeanour and Lord Vishnu's silence at the act and left Lord Vishnu's heavenly abode (Vaikunta
Vaikunta
Vaikuntha , Param Padam , or Paramapadam is the abode of Lord Vishnu. It is believed, in the tradition of Vaishnavites, to be the place of eternal bliss, exclusive to the Lord, His eternal consort, the Goddess Lakshmi, and the three-folded Serpent Sesha Naga, upon whom the Lord, and His Shakti ,...
)
Curse of chola king
Goddess Lakshmi on leaving the Vaikuntham comes to Varaha Shetra and does intense penance for 12 years. The Gods terrified with her intensity mollified her into returning to Vaikuntam with the site of her penance bearing Goddess Padmavathi (Alamelu Manga Devi) as a reincarnation of Goddess Lakshmi during the rule of Akasa Raja.After the departure of Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu left Vaikuntham and took his abode in an ant-hill on the Venkata Hill under a tamarind tree beside a Pushkarini. Lord Brahma and Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
, taking pity on the condition of Vishnu, made up their mind to assume the forms of a cow and calf to serve him. Surya
Surya
Surya Suraya or Phra Athit is the chief solar deity in Hinduism, one of the Adityas, son of Kasyapa and one of his wives, Aditi; of Indra; or of Dyaus Pitar . The term Surya also refers to the Sun, in general. Surya has hair and arms of gold...
- Sun God informed Lakshmi 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 Chola king sent the cow and its calf to graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of cattle. Discovering Lord Vishnu in the ant-hill, the cow everyday emptied her udder over the ant-hill and thus fed the Lord. Over a period ot time, the queen noticed that the cow did not yield any milk and chastised the cowherd severely.
The cowherd investigating the cause, followed the cow and discovered the cow emptying her udder over the ant-hill. In his anger, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow but struck God who rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow. On seeing Lord Vishnu bleeding, the cowherd fell down and died. On the death of the cowherd, the cow returned to the king with blood stains on her body, bellowing in the presence of the Chola King. An anxious king followed the cow to the scene of the incident. Near an ant-hill, the King found the cowherd lying dead on the ground.
While the King stood wondering how it had happened, the Lord rose from the ant-hill and cursed the king to become an Asura (Demon) for 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 (crown) presented by Akasa Raja at the time of His marriage with Sri Padmavati. To atone the sins of raising the axe against the Lord, the cowherd's atma (spirit) received the boon that he and his descendants would have the pleasure of opening the door in the Lord's temple in due time.
Goddess Padmavati
In due time, the Chola king was re-born as Akasa Raja and though he ruled well, he had no children born to him. When he conducted yagna and was tilling the ground, he found a baby in a lotus flower and named her Alarmel mangai (Lady born in Lotus petals) and adopted her as his daughter. Lord Vishnu reincarnated as Srinivasa (or presented himself after penance in the ant-hill) as the son of elderly woman-saint Vakula. Vakula was YasodaYasoda
Yasoda/Yashoda was wife of Nanda within the Puranic texts of Hinduism. Within the Bhagavata Purana it is described that Yasoda later became the foster-mother to Krishna, who was born to Devaki but was given to Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul, by Krishna's father Vasudeva on the night of his birth, for...
in her previous birth, Lord Krishna's foster-mother and was unhappy in that life for not seeing his marriage. As per the boon received from Krishna, she was re-born as Vakula.
In course of time Princess Padmavati grew up into a beautiful maiden and was visited by Saint Narada
Narada
Narada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
. On reading her palm, he foretold that she was destined to be the spouse of Lord Vishnu himself. In due time, Lord Srinivasa on a hunting trip was chasing a wild elephant in the forest. The elephant led him into a garden where Princess Padmavati and her maids were present .The sight of the elephant frightened them and their Princess. When Lord Srinivasa appeared in front of the Elephant, it immediately turned round, saluted the Lord and disappeared into the forest. Lord Srinivasa noticed princess Padmavathi and enquired about her from her maids. Enthralled by her, Lord Srinivasa lost interest in other activities and confided in Vakula on his love for Padmavathi. He also revealed his identity as Lord Vishnu as well as told her about her past life as his foster-mother Yasodha.
Marriage of Srinivasa & Padmavathi
Vakula devi leaves her hermitage to approach Akasa Raja with her proposal of marriage between Lord Srinivasa and Padmavathi. In the mean time, the restless Lord came to the city in the disguise of a fortune-teller. Princess Padmavathi also fell in love with Lord Srinivasa and fell ill after returning to the Palace. Unable to diagonize her ill-health, the maids invited the fortune-teller into the palace to foretell the future of the princess. When the fortune-teller revealed that Padmavathi was born to marry Lord Vishnu in his current avatar as Lord Srinivasa, she recovered. As the king heard of this news, Vakula announced herself to the King and asked for his daughter's hand in marriage to her son, Lord Srinivasa. The overjoyed king agreed and his advisor Bhrihaspati wrote the invitation for the wedding between the two avatars.Lord Srinivasa called for a conference of the Gods to win their consent for His marriage with Princess Padmavati. The Lord also obtained a heavy loan from Kubera
Kubera
Kubera , also spelt Kuber, is the Lord of wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu mythology. He is regarded as the regent of the North , and a protector of the world His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of...
, god
Deva (Hinduism)
' is the Sanskrit word for god or deity, its related feminine term is devi. In modern Hinduism, it can be loosely interpreted as any benevolent supernatural beings. The devs in Hinduism, also called Suras, are often juxtaposed to the Asuras, their half brothers. Devs are also the maintainers of...
of wealth in Hindu Mythology towards expenses for the wedding as well as provide proof of his wealth.
Srinivasa turns into Venkateswara
In about 6 months after this celestial marriage, MahaLakshmi comes to know that her husband married again and comes to see him in disbelief. It is said that the Lord turns into Stone right when he is encountered by Mahalakshmi and Padmavathi. Lord Brahma and Shiva appear before the confused queens and explain the main purpose behind all this - The Lord's desire to be on the 7 hills for the emancipation of mankind from the perpetual troubles of Kali Yuga. Goddesses Lakshmi and Padmavathi also turn into stone idols expressing their wish to be with their Lord always. Lakshmi stays with Him on His Chest on the left side while Padmavathi rests on His Chest's right side.Rangadasa was a staunch devotee of Vishnu and in the course of his pilgrimage, joined Sage Vaikhanasa Gopinatha, who was going up the Tirumala Hill n for the worship of the Lord. This was after the Lord had settled the Adivaraha region. After bathing in the Swami Pushkarini, Rangadasa viewed Lord Vishnu beneath a tamarind tree. However Lord Vishnu was exposed to the sun, wind and rain and was only protected by the extended wings of Garuda. Rangadasa raised a rough wall of stones around the deity, and started supplying flowers to Gopinatha everyday for Vishnu's worship. One day, Rangadasa was distracted by a Gandharva king and his ladies and forgot to supply flowers to Gopinatha for Vishnu's worship. The Lord then revealed Himself and told Rangadasa that he had not been steadfast and had succumbed to temptation. However in acceptance of Rangadasa's devoted service to Him till then, and blessed Rangadasa that he would be reborn as an affluent ruler of a province and would enjoy the earthly pleasures. He would continue to serve the Lord, construct a beautiful temple with a vimana and high surrounding walls, and thereby earn eternal glory.
Soon the site was forgotten and an ant-hill formed over the temple. This is reputed to be the same ant-hill in which Lord Srinivasa resided later after descending from Vaikuntam.
Thondaiman
Rangadasa was reborn as Tondaman, the son of the royal couple, Suvira and Nandini. Tondaman enjoyed a pleasurable life as a young man. One day, he set out on a hunting expedition on the Tirumala Hill, and with the help of a cow-herd, saw Vishnu under the tamarind tree. Tondaman returned home, deeply affected by the vision of Vishnu. Tondaman later inherited his father's kingdom, Tondamandalam. In accordance with the directions given by Adi Varaha to a forester, Tondaman constructed a prakaramPrakaram
A Prakaram, also spelled Pragaram or Pragaaram) in Indian architecture is an outer parth around the Hindu temple sanctum. These may be enclosed or open and are typically enclosed for the inner most prakaram....
(closed precincts of a temple) and dvara gopura, and arranged for regular worship of the Lord (according to Vaikhanasa Agama).
Lord Srinivasa appeared in the dream of Thondaman and asks him to build a temple for Him where He turned into stone. So comes into being the temple for Srinivasa on the seventh hill, named Venkatadri (Venkata Hill).
Mention in Vedas
Discovery of the Venkateswara deity is described as an act of divine providence: There was a huge anthill at Tirupati, and one day a local farmer heard a voice from the heavens asking him to feed the ants. By chance the local king heard the voice and began supplying milk for the ants himself. His compassion resulted in the liquid uncovering the magnificent idol of Venkateswara hidden within the anthill.Srivaishnavite tradition opines that the Rig Veda verse X.155.1 makes an indirect reference to the temple. One such translation goes as: Thondaiman
Thondaiman
The Thodaimans were Tamil rulers of ancient Tondai Nadu division of Tamilakkam. They ruled with Pallava dynasty, which controlled Northern Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, with their capital at Kanchipuram...
, ruler of Thondaimandalam in the ancient Tamil nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
(present day Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
and the sourroundings), is believed to have first built the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in his dream. He built the Gopuram
Gopuram
A Gopuram or Gopura, is a monumental tower, usually ornate, at the entrance of any temple, especially in Southern India. This forms a prominent feature of Koils, Hindu temples of the Dravidian style. They are topped by the kalasam, a bulbous stone finial...
and the Prakhara, and arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in the temple. Later on, the Chola dynasty vastly improved the temple and gave rich endowments. To date, the various Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
Grantha
Grantha
Grantha script is an ancient script that was widely used between the 6th century and the 19th century CE to write classical Sanskrit and Manipravalam by Tamil speakers in Southern India, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and is still in restricted use in traditional vedic schools...
scripts are still seen inscribed upon the temple prakara walls. The Sangam literature
Sangam literature
Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous The period during which these poems were composed is commonly referred to as the Sangam...
of Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
such as that of Silapadikaram
Cilappatikaram
Silappatikaram Silappatikaram has been dated to likely belong to the beginning of Christian era, although the author might have built upon a pre-existing folklore to spin this tale. The story involves the three Tamil kingdoms of the ancient era, the Chola, the Pandya and the Chera...
and Satanar Manimekalai
Manimekalai
Manimekalai or Maṇimekalai , written by the Tamil Buddhist poet Seethalai Saathanar is one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature. It is considered to be one of the five great epics of Tamil literature. Manimekalai is a poem in 30 cantos...
, dated between 500BC and 300AD, mentions Thiruvengadam (now named Tirupati) by the appellation "Nediyon Kunram" as the northernmost frontier of the Tamil kingdoms. In fact, a fairly detailed description of the deity is given in lines 41 to 51 of Book 11 of the Silapadikaram. Again, the appellation "Nediyon" for the deity occurs in the following verses:
Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas
Puranas
The Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
associate the site with Lord Varaha
Varaha
Varaha is the third Avatar of the Hindu Godhead Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to...
, a Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha
Varaha
Varaha is the third Avatar of the Hindu Godhead Vishnu, in the form of a Boar. He appeared in order to defeat Hiranyaksha, a demon who had taken the Earth and carried it to the bottom of what is described as the cosmic ocean in the story. The battle between Varaha and Hiranyaksha is believed to...
shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. There is also the Ranga Mandapam, which is to the left side of the temple as one enters. This is where the main deity, Sri Ranganatha Swamy
Ranganatha
Ranganātha , also known as Sri Ranganatha, Ranganathar, or Ranga, is a Hindu deity, more well known in South India. The deity is a resting form of Lord Vishnu, one of the foremost of Hindu Gods. His consort is Goddess Lakshmi, also known as Ranganayaki, Thayar...
of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple (Trichy), was protected for a period of almost 60 years during attacks by Malik Kafur
Malik Kafur
Malik Kafur, General , or Chand Ram as his name was originally, was a slave who became a head general in the army of Alauddin Khilji, ruler of the Delhi sultanate from 1296 to 1316 AD. He was originally seized by Alauddin's army after the army conquered the city of Khambhat...
in the 14th century.