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Namo Venkatesa….. It is a blissful opportunity to praise and serve Lord Balaji. I am blessed by Lord Venkateswara to live in Tirupati, studied in His Colleges at Tirupati and served His Temple as bank officer. All Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams colleges of Lord Balaji begin their day routines by praying Lord Balaji with Stotram. This prayer is an inspiration to the students to continue their daily studies with all discipline. The residents of Tirupati look at Tirumala hills and pray for His blessings as soon as they wake up in the morning. The city of Page 4 LORD BALAJI :: OM NAMO VENKATESAYA :: Dr.Suraparaju V.S.Kishore Kumar కుమా쁍 Tirupati always wears a festival look as it is situated at the Lotus Feet of Lord Balaji. It is most common to put „Venkata‟ as prefix to the names of children to seek the blessings of Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy. Even many put their name as „Venkateswara‟. I am also blessed like that since I too have „Venkata‟ as prefix to my name. When a child is born the common practice is tonsuring before one year at Tirumala Hills and seek the blessings of Lord Balaji. On passing of school final, many students prefer to have tonsuring at Tirumala Hills. I always believe that Tirumala is „Kaliyuga Vykuntam‟ and it is His blessing to see Lord Balaji and recite „Govinda‟ „Govinda‟. Tirumala Balaji Temple is one of the ancient temples in the world, built in 300 BC! The temple has seven hills, which are considered as heads of „Adisesha‟, a seven headed Snake God! Lord Venkateswara is self-manifested in Tirumala which makes it the only shrine of self-manifested Vishnu in the entire universe. All other shrines have idols those are effigies of the God after he has manifested at respective places at the behest of staunch devotees. But, here Venkateswara stands at Tirumala in the form of a shaligram. The diety stands on Padma peetam- Lotus platform, endorned with dhoti, various ornaments like kausthubham, various flowers, with snake carvings on Page 5 LORD BALAJI :: OM NAMO VENKATESAYA :: Dr.Suraparaju V.S.Kishore Kumar కుమా쁍 Temple History Tirupati Balaji temple has its origin in Vaishnavism, an ancient religion, 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. 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 what is known popularly today as Tirupati Balaji Temple. The main temple complex of temple houses awe-inspiring idol of the Lord of the Seven Hills and is worshipped by millions of devotees all over the world. The devotees Page 17 LORD BALAJI :: OM NAMO VENKATESAYA :: Dr.Suraparaju V.S.Kishore Kumar కుమా쁍 flock the temple in large numbers and make offerings in large quantity making it the richest temple in India. The temple has a long history and has acquired significance in Indian religious lore. The way to Tirumala Temple by climb is 3600 steps, 8 km long climb, with the steps not uniformly distributed. The initial stages a 2000 step climb, in a space of 1km. Following that is a 7 km long walk, with a few steps in-between here and there and a 2km long walk along the road included, and then a 500 step climb after that. And then you reach the top. Average time is about 3 and a half to 4 hours (if elders are there). Vishnu in the form of Lord Venkateshwara at Tirumala Venkateshwara (Sanskrit & Telugu), also known as Venkatachalapathy or Srinivasa or Balaji, is the supreme God believed to be a form of the Hindu Deity Lord Vishnu. He appeared in this Yuga Kali Yuga for saving the people who have fallen deeply and are deluded in three modes of material nature. Lord Venkateshwara means supreme God who destroys the sins of the people in this material world. The exact period in which the temple was founded is not known, and tradition has it that the temple is Swayambhustala, meaning that it came into existence on its own without anyone constructing it. Vishnu, in the form of Venkateshwara, is much worshipped at Tirupati temple. Venkateshwara is the presiding deity at the Tirumala temple complex, believed to be the richest of all the Hindu shrines in the world. The temple is situated in southern Andhra Pradesh in Chittoor district. It Page 18 LORD BALAJI :: OM NAMO VENKATESAYA :: Dr.Suraparaju V.S.Kishore Kumar కుమా쁍 Legends associated with the Temple There are many legends associated with the origin of this age-old temple. The larger than life statue of the main deity is said to have formed on its own, making it one of the eight „Swayambhu Kshetras‟ (self-manifested image) of Lord Vishnu. Many ancient texts, including the Rig Veda mention the existence and prominence of the temple. Written texts, which are dated back to the Mauryan and Gupta era, refer the temple as „Aadhi Varaha Kshetra‟. In fact, many other texts and theories link the history of Tirupati Temple to Lord Varaha, one of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. According to a legend, Lord Varaha created the entire Seshachalam Hills so that Adisesha, the seven-headed snake on which Vishnu rests, could rest on earth. Interestingly, Seshachalam Hills has seven peaks, which are said to be the representation of the heads of Adisesha. As far as the construction of the temple is concerned, King Thondaiman of Tondaimandalam kingdom constructed the precincts and the towering gateway (Gopuram) of the temple. He also made sure his subjects worshipped the Lord regularly. The construction of the temple too has many legends associated with it. One such legend has it that Lord Vishnu appeared in King Page 32 LORD BALAJI :: OM NAMO VENKATESAYA :: Dr.Suraparaju V.S.Kishore Kumar కుమా쁍 Thondaiman‟s dream and asked him to construct the temple. The temple was later expanded by various kings and emperors who ruled over the place. Starting from 300 AD, the Tirupati Temple was built over a period of time. One of the earliest recorded evidences state the generosity of Pallava queen Samavai; she had donated precious jewels and 23 acres of land for celebrating the major festivals of the temple. During the Chola dynasty, the temple was developed further as many Chola Kings embellished it with riches. When the Vijayanagara Empire took over, diamonds and gold were donated to the temple. Krishnadevaraya, one of the famous Emperors of Vijayanagara, visited the temple on multiple occasions and contributed to the construction of the temple. After the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, the temple was patronised by several kings until the advent of the East India Company. When the British took over the temple, they leased it for various purposes to different tenants. The East India Company then bestowed the administration of the temple to the chief priest of Hathiramji Muth. The Hathiramji Muth administered the temple until 1933, after which the „Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam‟ (TTD) took over the administration of the temple. In 1966, a court order transferred the administration of the temple to the government of Andhra Pradesh. This order was rolled back in 1979, when the administration of the temple was vested to the members of TTD. A committee, including a couple of members representing the government of Andhra Pradesh, was formed for running the day-to- day administration. Page 33 LORD BALAJI :: OM NAMO VENKATESAYA :: Dr.Suraparaju V.S.Kishore Kumar కుమా쁍 KSHETRA PALAKA SILA (BIG ROUND STONE) To the north east corner of the altar, under the flagstaff porch, there is a one and half feet high stone slab. This is called „Kshetrapalaka Sila‟. It is said that this stone slab marched around the temple for providing security to the Shrine at night. Priests used to keep the keys of the temple on this stone slab every night after closing the temple and collect them to open the temple in the morning, after saluting it. Interesting story of kshetra Palaka Sila of Tirumala There's a 'KshetraPalaka Sila'(A holy big stone which is believed to be Lord Shiva) near Gogarbham Dam and TTD have consecrated a Page 53 LORD BALAJI :: OM NAMO VENKATESAYA :: Dr.Suraparaju V.S.Kishore Kumar కుమా쁍 small Shiva Temple here. Lord Shiva is the Kshetra Palaka of Tirumala Divya Kshetram. Means He is the Protector here and in the daily temple rituals also he has a place as the god os Eesanyam(North-East) direction and the daily bali, Lord Shiva receives the Puja and offerings. Bali is a ritual in which the Astadikpalakas and the adhi devathas of all doors(7), and in the end the big Bali Peetam and Dvajasthambam will receive the Sesham(the remaining rice). This Bali is carried out after every Food Offering i.e. I Bell, II Bell and Night Bell. You can find this Kshetra Palaka Sila (a part of it in the from of Bali Peetam) to the North East Corner in the Dvajasthambam enclosure). There's a legend behind this Kshetra Pala, Lord Shiva. In the Olden days this big Kshetra Palaka Sila is residing at the Mada Streets North-East corner or Eesaanyam. And it is said to be a live stone. The Archakas after closing the doors of Temple, including the Main Door, while coming to their residence in the North Mada Street, will hit this big rock with the 'Kunche Kola' or the divine Temple Keys, three times and then this rock will start rotating like a ball and wander around four mada streets there by protecting the temple safely that means this big rock of Lord Shiva will never allow any person to enter in to the four mada streets once the doors were closed and Archakas intimate this to this rock by hitting.