Story of Srinivasa Kalyanam Sri is another name for Goddess Lakshmi and Srinivasa means home of Sri Lakshmi or that Sri Lakshmi lives in Lord Vishnu's heart always. Here is the story of Lord Vishnu's avatar as Srinivasa or Balaji or Venkatesa. Sage Narada posing as the sutradhar introduces himself as the divine child of Brahma the creator and Saraswathi. The rishis headed by Kasyapa began to perform a sacrifice on the banks of the Ganges. Sage Narada visited them and asked them why they were performing the sacrifice and who would be most worthy of the fruit of the yaga/sacrifice. Not being able to answer the question, the rishis approached Sage Bhrigu and entrusted him with the responsibility of finding out. To reach a solution after a direct ascertainment of reality, Sage Bhrigu first went to Satyaloka, the abode of Lord Brahma, the creator. At Satyaloka Lord Brahma did not take notice of Bhrigu offering obeisance. Concluding that Lord Brahma was unfit for worship, Bhrigu cursed Brahma and left Satyaloka for Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. At Kailasa, Bhrigu found Lord Siva spending his time pleasantly with Parvati and not noticing his presence. The sage cursed Lord Siva and left for Vaikuntam. At Vaikuntam, Lord Vishnu, was reposing on Adisesha/snake bed with goddess Lakshmi. 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, Lord Vishnu hastened to apologize to the angry sage and pressed his feet to allay the pain caused to Bhrigu's leg. In doing so the Lord removed the eye in the foot of the sage, which gave Bhrigu power as to defy the Devas. The sage realizes his arrogance and asks for forgiveness and takes leave. Sri Mahalakshmi was angered by the action of her Lord in apologizing to Bhrigu who committed an offence. Lord Vishnu consoles her and explains that Brighu is like our child, and that she should not be offended when a child kicks the parent. If this was so, she tells him that she would leave Vaikunta and does so. Vishnu is racked by pangs of separation. Narada arrives and asks the lord why he is troubled. He tells him that it is time for him to go to Bhooloka/Earth and reincarnate as Srinivasa. Narada also tells him that goddess Lakshmi has gone with a reason and he needs to follow. The reluctant Lord Vishnu leaves for Bhooloka and Narada is overjoyed with what is to come. Lord Vishnu reaches Bhooloka and begins to meditate near an anthill. With this the gods begin to worry for Lord Vishnu. Lord Brahma and Siva as cow and calf and goddess Lakshmi assuming the form of a cowherdess they approach the Chola country. (The cows and calf were sent to graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of cattle. Discovering Lord Vishnu on the anthill, the cow provided its milk, and thus fed the Lord. Meanwhile, at the palace, the cow was not yielding any milk, for which the Chola Queen chastised the cowherd severely.) To find out the cause of lack of milk, the king and cowherd followed the cow, hid behind a bush and discovered the cow emptying her udder over the anthill.Incensed over the conduct of the cow, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow. However, Lord Vishnu rose from the anthill to receive the blow and save the cow. When the king saw Lord Vishnu hurt, he is furious at the cowherd and kills him. Lord Vishnu rose from the anthill and curses the King saying that he would become an Asura for being so severe in punishing the cowherd. Story of Srinivasa Kalyanam The King pleaded innocence, and the Lord blessed him by saying that the curse would end and he would be reborn as Akasa Raja, the father of Padmavati, with whom he was to marry. The cowherd is brought back to life. (Yasoda brought up Sri Krishna (incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Treta Yuga), the son of Devaki, in his early years. However, Yasoda was not blessed to witness the marriage of Sri Krishna with Rukmini and she felt very sad. Sri Krishna had promised to fulfill her desire in her next birth as Vakuladevi in his next avatara as Srinivasa. Vakula Devi is seen praying to Lord Vishnu/Krishna of whom she is a devotee. She imagines Krishna appearing and reappearing. She sees Krishna teasing her, refusing to eat food, eating mud. Vakula imagines herself catching Krishna by the ear and asking him to open his mouth. Little Krishna opens his mouth to reveal the entire universe within him. Vakula is overwhelmed and little Krishna wipes off her memory. She once again chides Krishna for his pranks and continues to show her adoration for her child. Srinivasa approaches Vakula Devi’s ashram/hermitage. Vakula is overjoyed to see him and explains her feelings. She tells him that all the time she has been dreaming of Krishna and that now to see him in reality and to hear his sweet voice she is joyous. She welcomes him to her Ashram and shows her motherly love for him. Narada enters once again and asks the Lord if he had enough of motherly love. He also reminds him that it is now time for him to find Padmavati and wed her. Srinivasa takes leave and Narada tells Vakula of what’s to happen next. Srinivasa is chasing a wild elephant. The elephant that is destined to help Srinivasa chance upon Padmavati. The elephant leads him to the palace gardens. (Akasa Raja had no heirs, and therefore, he wanted to perform a sacrifice. As part of the sacrifice, he was ploughing the fields when his plough turned up a lotus in the ground. On examining the lotus, the King found a female child in it. Akasa Raja was happy to find the child. He carried it to his palace and gave it to his Queen. At that time he heard a voice from above which said, "Oh! King, tend to it as your child and fortune will befall you." As the child 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 to by a host of maids. One day, while she was spending her time in a garden picking flowers with her maids, Sage 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. She then began to dream and await the arrival of her lord.) In the elephant's pursuit, the Lord was led into a garden, where Princess Padmavati and her maids were picking flowers. The sight of the elephant frightens the Princess and her maids. But the elephant immediately turns around, saluted the Lord and disappears into the forest. Lord Srinivasa, saw the frightened maidens, who accosted him with queries. Lord Srinivasa gave the maids details about his birth and parentage. He, in turn, enquired after their princess, her birth and parentage. When the maids informed Lord Srinivasa that the princess was Padmavati, foster daughter of Akasa Raja, He expressed his interest in her. However, he was not approved by the maids and was shunned by them. When Lord Srinivasa returned, Vakuladevi found him pining for his love. When she enquired about the cause, the Lord informed her that unless he married Princess Padmavati, he would never be well again. Vakuladevi then asked Him to tell her all about the Princess. (The Lord then narrated the story of her (Padmavati’s) previous birth and his promise to wed her. After listening to Srinivasa's story of how he had promised to marry Vedavati in her next birth as Padmavati, Vakuladevi realised that Srinivasa would not be happy unless he married Padmavati.) Story of Srinivasa Kalyanam Narada arrives to Vakulas ashram once again. He asks Vakuladevi to go to Akasa Raja and his Queen and arrange for the marriage. He also told Srinivasa to assume the form of a lady fortune-teller and approach the palace. Vakula Devi and Srinivasa take leave. Narada is pleased that the story is going as per plan. The fortune-teller reads the palm of the Princess and tells the Queen about the cause of Padmavati's indisposition. She advised the Queen to give Padmavati in marriage to Lord Srinivasa. She also tells the Queen that a lady would approach her shortly on behalf of Lord Srinivasa, to formally request Padmavati's hand in marriage. She even manages to whisper to Padmavathi that she is none other than Srinivasa in disguise. Padmavathi shies away. After the departure of the fortune-teller, the palace guard informs of Vakuladevi’s arrival. She is received by the King and Queen. She informs the King and Queen that she has come on behalf Lord Srinivasa to request the hand of Padmavati in marriage.Akasa Raja and his queen Dharanidevi are overjoyed that their daughter would wed Srinivasa, who is none other than Lord Vishnu. The wedding preparations begin. Rice is ground, turmeric is pounded, flower decorations are done and colorful decorations are made everywhere. There is joy and mood for celebration of the wedding of Srinivasa and Padmavathi. Akasa Raja, the Queen, Vakula Devi and Narada approach Sukamahamunin and request him to set the time and date for the wedding.