Sri Balaji

Manifestation

Supreme Being (Brahman) has eternally manifested as a triad of three couples of which Vishnu represents the Divine role as the Lord, Preserver, Sustainer of the bounteous creation which is represented by His consort Lakshmi. According to Hindu traditions, Vishnu manifested on the Venkatādri peak of Seshachalam mountain range in the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India in the present age to destroy (‘kat’) the sins (‘vem’) of His worshippers.

Therefore, He is known in this local manifestation as ‘Venkateshvara’, or ‘The Lord who takes away our evils’. Initially, Lakshmi too had manifested in Kolhapur (where the Mahalakshmi Temple stands) in the state of Maharashtra, but subsequently re-manifested close to Venkateshvara as Padmā Devī. The Venkatādri hill is surrounded by the town of Tirumala, and several other holy spots. At the base of the hill range is the city of Tirupati containing numerous sacred temples in and around it.

Physical Attributes

• The black stone image shows insignia of Vishnu, Shiva and Skanda indicating its pan-Hindu appeal, but the Discus (Chakra), Conch and other Vaishnava insignia fitted into its hands ensure that the Vaishnavite ceremonial traditions (said to have been fixed by Shri Ramanujacharya in the 11th century) are followed by the temple. The images of Venkateshvara, Padmā and others are richly adorned with and covered by bejeweled plates of gold donated by rich devotees and royalty during the last 1500 years.
• It is believed that the Venkatādri hill was brought from Vaikuntha, the Divine abode of Vishnu and Lakshmi. The seven peaks of the Seshachalam range (of which Venkatādri is one) represent the seven hoods of the cobra Sesha on which Vishnu and Lakshmi recline in Vaikuntha. The entire area therefore has a religious Hindu significance, and is treated as a natural preserve in which no large-scale commercial activity, or non-Hindu religious activity is permitted. The forests on the hill range support very beautiful and diverse vegetation and animal life.

Qualities

• Destroyer of the evils and sins of his devotees, and giver of prosperity and success.
• Deeply caring of His worshipers, and promoter of charity and family values.

Ways of Worship

The Lord is treated like living emperor with Padmā as the empress. During the day, there are elaborate ceremonies to wake them up, offer food to them, prepare them for the afternoon siesta and the nighttime sleep. Periodically, their wedding is re-enacted, and other grand festivals are celebrated throughout the year. At any given time, there are long queues of devotees awaiting their turn to have the darshana at the shrine, and they hear devotional hymns written by saints over the centuries, that are broadcast via speakers in the entire area. In and around the temple are dozens of other sacred spots with their own associated ceremonies. Tirupati has a pan-Hindu appeal but non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the shrine unless they give a written undertaking that they have faith in the Lord or in Hindu Dharma.

An important tradition at the shrine is tonsuring the hair of infants for the first time since birth. Several adults to visit Tirupati to tonsure their hair after a vow or wish they have undertaken was fulfilled with the blessings of the Lord. The shrine is the largest exporter of human hair that are later used for wigs. Donation of wealth to the Lord is also a popular custom. The shrine, being in a remote area, was spared of looting by Islamic invaders despite attempts, and therefore has inestimable wealth donated over the centuries by royalty and common worshipers. Much of this money is used for charitable causes like hospitals, schools, colleges, constructing roads etc. The ‘hundi’, or the giant donation vessel of the temple is emptied several times a day.

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The first narrative of Venkateshvara occurs in ancient Tamil language scriptures of the Hindus, and in the Varāha Purāna in Sanskrit. The prayers of the first three Vaishnava Azhwar saints (6th century CE) worship Him as a manifestation of both Shiva and Vishnu. Other Tamil scriptures and traditions relate Him to Murugan-Skanda. In subsequent centuries and in the Sanskrit scriptures, He is a benign manifestation of Vishnu to counterweight Vishnu’s ferocious manifestation as Varāha in the same area. During the 11th century C.E., Shri Ramanujacharya formalized and systematized the worship of Venkateshvara as a manifestation of Vishnu according to the Vaikhānasa Vaishnava scriptures of Hindus.

Regions most worshiped

The shrine has been worshipped by emperors of South India and common Hindus including the tribals in the region for almost 2000 years. The area marked the northern boundary of the Tamil area (according to Tolkappiam, the ancient Tamil grammar) but now forms a part of Andhra Pradesh, a Telugu speaking region. Today, Venkateshvara is worshipped by Hindus all over the world. Replicas of the shrine and the Deity have been recreated in several countries.

Well-Known Stories

• It is said that Venkateshvara borrowed considerable amount of wealth to fund his wedding with Padmā. Thereafter, he requested His devotees to help him repay the loan through their donations with the promise of fulfilling their wishes in return. Thereby originated the custom of donating personal wealth to the shrine.
• Every day, some white camphor is applied to the chin of the image. It is said that centuries ago, Saint Annamacharya and his pregnant wife were helping lay out the garden around the shrine when the saint saw a teenager plucking some plants nearby. Suspecting him to be a thief, the saint chased the teen into the dark inner chamber of the temple and hurled a crowbar at him. But the teen disappeared. The next morning, the chin of the image was found bleeding and as an ointment, some camphor and sandal paste were applied. The saint concluded that out of compassion, the Lord had Himself manifested as a teenager to help his pregnant wife with the gardening, but he had mistakenly accused Him of being a thief. The saint wrote around 32000 hymns in his lifetime to praise the Lord and atone. All these hymns are engraved on copper plates stored in the area.

Fascinating Facts

• The shrine is said to be the richest Hindu temple in the world, and the second richest religious institution (after the Vatican) of any faith tradition. Much of the wealth has been used for works of charity and public utility. Hindus often take Him as a business partner at the start of their venture, and duly donate ‘His share’ to the shrine every year.
• A Saree is sent as a gift on behalf of Shri Venkateshvara to His spouse Lakshmi at the ‘Mahalakshmi Mandir’ in Kolhapur every year.

Other Popular Names

Bālājī: Especially popular among Hindus in N India and Nepal, it celebrates the child form (‘bāla’) of Vishnu who floated down a leaf in the cosmic waters when the previous creation came to an end.

Popular/Well-known Prayers

The Venkatesha ‘Suprabhātam’ (morning prayer), ‘Stotra’ (entreaty), ‘Prapatti’ (surrender) and ‘mangalashāsanaṃ’ (prayer for glory and auspiciousness) in 29, 11, 16 and 5 verses respectively have been sung by noted Indian classical singers and are chanted by numerous Hindus. A popular prayer is verse 9 from the Stotra:

Vinaa Venkatesham na naatho na nathah, Sadaa Venkatesham smaraami smaraami |

Hare Venkatesha praseeda praseeda, Priyam Venkatesha prayaccha prayaccha ||

“There is no Lord for me other than Venkatesha. I remember Venkatesha all the time. May Venkatesha be happy with my prayers. May Venkatesha be pleased to bless me forever.”

[Shri Venkatesha Stotra, verse 9].