General

Tirupati (తిరుపతి in Telugu, திருப்பதி in Tamil) is a temple town in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the foot hills of Tirumala. It is one of the holiest places in Hinduism and is well known for the sacrifice of hair by its devotees. Tirupati, or Aadhi Varaha Kshetra, as it is known in the Puranas (Scriptures on Hindu Mythology), is an important mountainous pilgrimage site in the Hindu world. It is dedicated to Vishnu the second deity of the Hindu Holy Trinity who assumes the role of preserver of the cosmos. In this temple Vishnu resides as Venkateswara, an avatar or incarnation of Vishnu. The deity is seen with two arms as opposed to the commonly seen four-armed image of Vishnu. The goddess Sri, or lakshmi (Vishnu's consort), resides on the chest of Venketeswara thus he is also known by the other epithet of Srinivasa (the one who Sri resides in). The deity is seen by devotees as the Kaliyuga varada, that is the boon-granting lord of Kaliyuga (the fourth age of Hindu horology). Tirupati is held in particular reverence by the Vaishnava sect of South India, known as the Sri Vaishnava. Telugu belongs to the family of Dravidian languages and is the official language of the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. ... Tamil may refer to: The Tamil language, which is one of the Dravidian languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. ... Map showing chitoor district Chittoor, also known as Chittur, is a city and district of Indias Andhra Pradesh state. ... Andhra Pradesh (ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశం in Telugu) (Ä€ndhra Prādesh), is a state in south-eastern India and is part of the linguistic-cultural region of South India. ... Tirumala (తిరుమల), the abode of the Hindu God Lord Venkateswara, is situated on a very ancient ridge of mountains in a southern district of Andhra Pradesh. ... Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma, and Vaidika-Dharma) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on teachings of the Veda scriptures. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Vishnu (Sanskrit: (विष्‍णु) is a form of God, to whom Hindus pray. ... In Hinduism, Venkateshwara (also spelled Venkateswara, Venkateshwer or Venkatachalapathi) is a much-worshipped form of Vishnu. ... In Hinduism, an avatar is the incarnation (bodily manifestation) of an Immortal Being, or of the Ultimate Supreme Being. ... Popular image of Lakshmi In Hinduism, Lakshmi or Laxmi (Sanskrit: लक्ष्मी) is the goddess of wealth, light and fortune, as well as (secondarily) luck, beauty and fertility. ... Vishnu (Hindi: (विष्‍णु) is a form of God, whom Hindus pray to. ... According to most inrepretations of Hindu scriptures, the Kali Yuga (Iron Age) began at the end of Krishnas bodily lifespan (approximately 5100 years ago, 3102 BC) and will last exactly 432,000 years — placing its conclusion in the year AD 428,899 (it began with a year 0). ... A Vaishnavite is a follower of Vaishnavism, a monotheistic faith which believes in Vishnu as the supreme God. ...

Tirupati is the second richest religious institution after the Vatican City and is one of the most revered Hindu temples in India. The temple has universal appeal in India, regardless of state of origin.

History of the Shrine

The origins of the site are legendary. Its beginnings are shrouded in great antiquity and its origins are still a matter of scholarly debate. Sangam literature, the earliest of Tamil literature (dated between 500 B.C to 300 A.D), mentions Tirupati as Thrivengadam which used to form the northernmost frontier of the Tamil Kingdoms. Sangam literature, such as Ilango Vadigal's Silapadikaram and Satanar's Manimeghalai, bear testimony to the existence of a shrine at Tirupati. Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions of Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. While some scholars accept the antiquity of the shrine they believe that the image of Venkateswara was not originally that of Vishnu but of a buddhist deity, perhaps bodhisattva avalokiteswara. The region of Andhra in which Tirupati is located in was already known for the existence of ancient Buddhist sites of the Satavahana era, namely Nagarjunakonda and Amravati, thus scholars suggest that the ancient site of Tirupati was probably a buddhist site prior to its transformation into a Hindu one after Buddhism saw its decline in the face of Guptan Hindu Rennaissance. Even up to the time of Ramanuja, the famous Vaishnava scholar of the 12th century, the identity of the deity was still disputed until Ramanuja confirmed it to be Vishnu. The Sangam is a collection of Tamil literature composed between 1500 and 2000 years ago. ... Tamil may refer to: The Tamil language, which is one of the Dravidian languages spoken in the Indian subcontinent. ... Cilappatikaram (The Ankle Bracelet) also spelled as Cilappadhikaram or Silappadhigaram, is one of the five great epics of ancient Tamil Literature. ... The Puranas are part of Hindu Smriti; these religious scriptures discuss devotion and mythology. ... Varaha retrieves the Earth In Hinduism, Varaha is the third avatar of Vishnu, a boar sent to defeat Hiranyaksha, a horrible demon who had taken the Earth (prthivi) and carried it to the bottom of the ocean. ... Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... Prince Siddhartha Gautama as a bodhisattva, before becoming a Buddha. ... Sri Ramanuja Acharya (1017 - 1137 AD) was an Indian philosopher and is recognized as the most important saint of Sri Vaishnavism. ...

Whatever its origins, it was probably a well established Hindu shrine by the 5th century A.D, whenceforth the Alvars or Vaishnava saints who led the Bhakti or Devotional movement in South India sung in praise of Lord Veketeswara as Vishnu. For the centuries to come Tirupati was richly endowed by the kings and emperors of various dynasties thus adding to its current reputation as the richest and most opulent temple in the world. The Imperial Cholas, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagara emperors were just some of the contributors for building the temple and donating gold and other ornamanents for the temple. Tirupati survived the Moslem plunder of South India without being plundered by the invading Moslem rulers of Delhi, unlike other temples such as the Meenakshi Sundareswara in Madurai and Srirangam. Under the invasions the idol of Sriranganatha, the deity of Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping. To remember this event, a hall in Tirupati is still known as the Ranganatha mandapa. It was under the regime of the Vijayanagara emperors that the temple attained its current opulence and size. The emperors of the dynasty, in particular Krishna Deva Raya, lavished on the temple numrous objects of priceless value, ranging from diamond studded crowns to golden swords. The coronation ceremonies of the emperors were also held at Tirupati. Bhakti is a Tamil or Sanskrit term from Hinduism that means intense devotion expressed by action (service). ... The Cholas were the most famous of the three dynasties that ruled ancient Tamil Nadu. ... The Hoysala Empire ruled part of southern India from 1000 to 1346. ... Vijayanagara (often written Vijayanagar, meaning the city of victory), in northern Karnataka, is the name of the now ruined capital city of the historic Vijayanagara empire in the Southern part of India. ... Madurai (மதுரை in Tamil) is situated on the banks of Vaigai River in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Darshan Queue System at Tirumala

Tirumala possibly has the most elaborate arrangement in India to sequence and guide visiting devotees through the holy shrine. Due to the ever increasing rush of devotees during all 365 days in a year, the temple authorities (Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams) have set-up a virtual queque system. This has resulted in a steep drop in time that individual devotees need to spend within the Queque Complex leading to the main temple. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanamsు(తితుమల తిరుపతి దేవస్థానములు) is an independent trust which monitors the activities of the richest Hindu temple at Tirumala, Tirupati. ...

Individual devotees are required to register at any of the many queque offices situated near the main shrine, at the local rail and bus stations and at TTD offices in other key cities like Hyderabad and others like Chennai where most devotees come in from. On registration, devotees are provided with a bar-coded wrist-band with the expected time of entry into the Queue Complex. Recently TTD(Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams)started using Biometrics. People need to give their finger prints while they're registering themselves for Darshan. This will eliminate the involvment of middlemen, who sell the tickets in black. Devotees contributing for Special Darshan or Puja Darshan tickets are moved up the queue virtually. All devotees are treated equally from the point of entry into the Queue Complex. Hyderabad (హైదరాబాదు in Telugu, حیدراباد in Urdu), the 5th largest metropolis of India [1], is the capital of the present day State of Andhra Pradesh. ... Chennai (சென்னை in Tamil), formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is Indias fourth largest city. ...

Typically, devotees spend between 60 to 180 minutes going through the Queue complex, depending on the season. The delay is the maximum on weekends, festival periods and special temple puja periods. The best day to visit the temple is Thursday, just before the weekend rush.

Festivals

Whilst most Vaishnava festivals such as Vaikunta Ekadashi, Rama Navami and others, are held with much pomp and glory as like other temples, the Brahmotsavam festival of Tirupati is the most important and greatest festival in Tirupati. It is said that Brahma the creator himself conducts the ceremony in honour of Veketeswara. The image of the deity is carried out in procession on various vahanas or vehicles everyday.

Sacrifice of hair

No mention of Tirupati would be complete without mentioning the sacrifice of human hair as a symbol of devotion to God. Almost every devotee who visits this shrine has their head tonsured irrespective of age, sex and race. One can easily identify a family if they have been on a pilgrimage to Tirupati by their clean shaven heads. In fact the human hair is so enormous that they are actually sorted out and exported, making India the largest exporter of hair in the world. Tirupati is also well known for its laddu a "prasadam" from the temple brahmins. Laddu is a popular sweet in India. ... Prasãd (Hindi) or prasãda (Sanskrit) is both a mental condition of generosity, as well as a material substance that is first offered to a deity and then consumed with the faith that the deitys blessing resides within it. ...

Related Links

• Official site of Tirupati Temple.
• http://www.srimannarayana.com
• Tirumala.net
• Tirupati.info
• (http://www.tirupatitimes.com/
• Sri Annamacharya Kritis
• TELUGU - Italian of the East
• TELUGU...a language sweeter than honey]]