Lord
Venkateswara, popularly known as Balaji, is the presiding
deity of the Tirumala Hills, is one of the manifestations
of Lord Vishnu, who incarnated in a previous Kali-yuga at
the request of sage Narada. The sage requested Lord Vishnu
to settle in Tirumala, to shower his eternal grace on mankind,
who were very much depressed and unable to follow the rigorous
yoga practices of self realization. Tirumala, the seat of
Lord Venkateswara is surrounded by seven hills, thus He is
known as Lord of the seven hills. Located in the southern
Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, 130 kms from the city
of Madras (Chennai). Among all the festivals observed in Tirupati,
the most important of them is the annual Brahmotsava festival,
which derives its name from the fact that it was originally
inaugurated by Lord Brahma himself. This festival is conducted
once a year, and runs for nine days. The term "utsava"
means a festival that raises one beyond the darkness of material
life. In Tirupati, every day is filled with countless festivals
that elevate us to spiritual consciousness by connecting us
with the deity through service.
In 1843 AD, the East India Company divested itself of the
direct management of non-Christian places of worship and native
religious institutions. The administration of the shrine of
Sri Venkateswara and a number of estates were then entrusted
to Sri Seva Dossji of the Hatiramji Mutt at Tirumala, and
the temple remained under the administration of the Mahants
for nearly a century, till 1933 AD. In 1933, the Madras Legislature
passed a special act, which empowered the Tirumala Tirupati
Devasthanams(TTD) Committee to control and administer a fixed
group of temples in the Tirumala-Tirupati area, through a
Commissioner appointed by the Government of Madras. In 1951,
the Act of 1933 was replaced by an enactment whereby the administration
of TTD was entrusted to a Board of Trustees, and an Executive
Officer was appointed by the Government . The provisions of
the Act of 1951 were retained by Charitable and Religious
Endowments Act, 1966. There is ample literary and epigraphic
testimony to the antiquity of the temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara.
All the great dynasties of rulers of the southern peninsula
have paid homage to Lord Sri Venkateswara in this ancient
shrine. The Pallavas of Kancheepuram (9th century AD), the
Cholas of Thanjavur (a century later), the Pandyas of Madurai,
and the kings and chieftains of Vijayanagar (14th - 15th century
AD) were devotees of the Lord and they competed with one another
in endowing the temple with rich offerings and contributions.
It was during the rule of the Vijayanagar dynasty that the
contributions to the temple increased. Sri Krishnadevaraya
had statues of himself and his consorts installed at the portals
of the temple, and these statues can be seen to this day.
There is also a statue of Venkatapati Raya in the main temple.
After the decline of the Vijayanagar dynasty, nobles and chieftains
from all parts of the country continued to pay their homage
and offer gifts to the temple. The Maratha general, Raghoji
Bhonsle, visited the temple and set up a permanent endowment
for the conduct of worship in the temple. He also presented
valuable jewels to the Lord, including a large emerald which
is still preserved in a box named after the General. Among
the later rulers who have endowed large amounts are the rulers
of Mysore and Gadwal. After the fall of the Hindu kingdoms,
the Muslim rulers of Karnataka and then the Britishers took
over, and many of the temples came under their supervisory
and protective control. Sri Venkatachala Mahatmya is referred
to in several Puranas, of which the most important are the
Varaha Purana and the Bhavishyottara Purana. The printed work
contains extracts from the Varaha Purana, Padma Purana, Garuda
Purana, Brahmanda Purana, Markandeya Purana, Harivamsa, Vamana
Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmottara Purana, Aditya Purana,
Skanda Purana and Bhavishyottara Purana. Most of these extracts
describe the sanctity and antiquity of the hills around Tirumala
and the numerous teerthams situated on them.
The legends taken from the Venkatachala Mahatmya and the Varaha
Purana, pertaining to the manifestation of the Lord at Tirumala,
are of particular interest. According to the Varaha Purana,
Adi Varaha manifested himself on the western bank of the Swami
Pushkarini, while Vishnu in the form of Venkateswara came
to reside on the southern bank of the Swami Pushkarini. One
day, Rangadasa, a staunch devotee of Vishnu, in the course
of his pilgrimage, joined Vaikhanasa Gopinatha, who was going
up the Tirumala Hill for the daily worship of Lord Venkateswara.
After bathing in the Swami Pushkarini, he beheld the lotus-eyed
and blue-bodied Vishnu beneath a tamarind tree. Vishnu was
exposed to the sun, wind and rain and was only protected by
the extended wings of Garuda. Rangadasa was astounded by the
wonderful sight. He raised a rough wall of stones around the
deity, and started supplying flowers faithfully to Gopinatha
everyday for Vishnu's worship. One day, Rangadasa was distracted
by a Gandharva king and his ladies. Consequently, he forgot
to supply flowers to Gopinatha for Vishnu's worship. The Lord
then revealed Himself and told Rangadasa that He had been
testing the latter's continence, but Rangadasa had not been
steadfast and had succumbed to temptation.
However, the Lord accepted and appreciated 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. 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 forester, 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 prakaram
and dvara gopura, and arranged for regular worship of the
Lord (according to Vaikhanasa Agama). In the Kali Yuga, Akasaraja
came to rule over Tondamandalam. His daughter Padmavathi was
married to Venkateswara. The marriage, officiated by Brahma,
was celebrated with great pomp and splendour.
