Tirupati

The temple of Sri Venkateswara, one of the oldest and holiest places of pilgrimage of the Hindus, is located on Venkatachala in the Tirupati Hill, in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India.

All the rulers of South India, such as the Pallavas of Kancheepuram, the Cholas of Thanjavur and the Pandyas of Madurai worshipped the Lord and made rich contributions to the temple.

Almost all the Hindu religious scriptures, such as the Shastras and the Puranas, state that one can attain deliverance by worshipping Sri Venkateswara. Even the Rig Veda, regarded as the oldest book in India, clearly mentioned the spiritual gains one can have by undertaking pilgrimage to Venkatachala, the abode of Lord Venkateswara.

Legend

Narada once came across a number of sages who were performing a sacrifice on the banks of the Ganga. He asked the sages whom they were offering their sacrifice. The sages had no answer to this question. They sought the help of wisest sage Bhrigu to get the answer. Sage Bhrigu set out to Brahmalok to consult Brahma on the question. Brahma did not pay heed to him. Bhrigu then went to Shiva who was enjoying his time with Parvati. After getting no attention from Shiva, the sage went to Vaikuntha to meet Vishnu. To his chagrin, Bhrigu found Vishnu too busy with Lakshmi to notice him at all. Bhrigu lost his temper and kicked Vishnu on his chest, the residing place of Lakshmi. But Vishnu was so kind to him that instead of retaliating, he massaged Bhrigu’s foot to lessen the pain. Bhrigu was so pleased with Vishnu’s gesture that after returning to the banks of Ganga, he told the sages that only Vishnu deserved their offerings.

However, the incident irritated Lakshmi very much. She left Vaikuntha for Kolhapur. Vishnu went on a strenuous search for her but to no avail. Later he married Padmavati. It is said that at the time of marriage, Vishnu was a pauper. He turned to Kuber for his help and borrowed his requirements. Even today, when devotees make donation at Tirumala, they believe that they are actually helping the Lord repay his debt to Kuber and the Lord will reciprocate their gesture with his blessings.

When to go

Though Tirumala is visited by devotees and tourists round the year, the ideal time to visit this place of pilgrimage is from October to March.

How to go

Tirupati is well-connected by road, railway and air transport. The APSRTC Central bus terminus is located about 2 km from the railway station on the same road. Regular and frequent Express bus services are available from Tirupati to Chennai. Local buses also ply on this route but they take a longer time to cover the route. Visitors can avail daily tour buses from Chennai to Tirupati and return on the same day. From Tirupati, visitors can also avail regular bus services to Hyderabad, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Vijayawada, Bangalore and Kanchipuram.

To cope with the huge rush of visitors to Tirupati round-the-year, the railways operate four Express trains daily between Chennai and Tirupati. Besides, Tirupati is also connected by trains to many locations in the South and other parts of the country.

Tirupati has excellent air services to cater to the tourists. The airport is located 15km from Tirupati. Daily flights are available from Tirupati to Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Where to stay

Tourists have a wide range of stay options in Tirupati. There are lower-rate hotels with basic rooms. The hotels with comfortable and clean rooms charge slightly higher prices. Middle category hotels provide both A/C and non-A/C rooms with TV and other amenities. Some of these hotels have attached restaurants that offer good quality of vegetarian food.

Many pilgrims opt for cheaper and unfurnished accommodation at “dharamshalas” managed by Sri Govindaraja temple and Sri Kodanda Rama temple. However, some “dharmashalas” provide furnished rooms at slightly higher charges.

Places to visit

Padi Kavali Maha Dwara

This outer ‘gopuram’ is rich in marvelous architecture of the Chola period. It is replete with a number of gods like Hanuman, Lakshmi Narasimha and Kevale Narasimha.

Ranga Mandapam

It is believed to have been constructed as far back as the 14th century by the Yadava ruler Sri Ranganadha Yadava Raya. Muslim rulers occupied Srirangam in the 14th century and the image of Lord Ranganadha was kept hidden in the shrine within Ranga Mandapam.

Sampangi Pradakshinam

This is the path for going around the temple. There are several mandapams like the Pratima Mandapam, Tirumala Mandapam, Saluva Narasimha Mandapan, Dhvajasthambha Mandapam and Aina Mahal on the path.

Govindaraja Temple

There are two shrines in this temple – one is dedicated to Sri Govindaraja who is the form of Lord Vishnu in Anant Shajja, and the others dedicated to Sri Parthasarathi, Rukmini and Satyabhama.

It is a very big temple consisting of other shrines dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi, Vedanta Desika, and Sri Ramanuja. The shrine dedicated to Goddess Lakshmi presents the Goddess in a seated position, holding lotus, ‘abhaya’ and ‘varada’ in her four hands. The seven-storied temple was built in 1628. There are magnificent carvings illustrating stories of the Ramayana and Lord Krishna.

Kothanda Rama Swami Temple

Built in 1481, this temple is situated about 2 km from Sri Govindaraja Temple. It is famous for the legend associated with it that Sri Chaitanya had a ‘darshan’ of Lord Ramachandra Swami in this temple.

Sri Venkateshwara Museum
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This religious museum is almost adjacent to Govindaraja Temple. Devotees can have a delightful experience of seeing works of sculptures. The photos of renowned 108 Divya Desam Vishnu temples are on display in the museum.

Hare Krishna Temple (ISKCON)

This temple of Radha-Govind is located at the foot of the Tirumala Hill. This is a modern temple built with an eye on the facilities normally sought by the devotees, i.e., guest house, easily available transport etc.

Padmavathi Temple

Dedicated to Goddess Padmavathi, the wife of Lord Venkateswara, this temple is located in Tiruchanur, 5 km from Tirupati. Thousands of pilgrims visit this temple because, as the legend says, a visit to Tirupati remains incomplete without a visit to Goddess Padmavati. Deities of Sri Krishna, Balarama, Sundararaja Swami and Suryanarayana Swami are placed in the temple.

A grand festival celebrating the marriage of Lord Venkateshwara to Padmavathi Devi takes place once a year.

Kapileswara Shiva Temple

Located 2 km from Tirupati, this temple is where sage Kapila had a ‘darshan’ of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. There is a sacred tank where pilgrims take bath to have their sins washed off.

Narayanavanam

There is a temple dedicated to Lord Kalyana Venkateswara at Narayanavanam, which is 36 km from Tirupati. It is said that the marriage of Lord Venkateswara and Padmavati was held here. They had a brief stay here before setting out for Tirumala.

Chandragiri Fort

The chief attraction of the fort is a small museum where visitors can see a wide range of weapons and sculptural works on display. In the 16th century, the third Vijayanagar capital was located here.

Festivals also occupy a special place at Tirumala, the most famous of them being “Brahmotsavam”. This is celebrated with great pomp and pageantry for nine days in September. There is a huge rush of pilgrims and tourists to Tirumala at the festival time, especially on the fifth and the ninth day of the festival when Garudostavam and Rathotavam take place respectively.