[ Edit ] Overview

Considered one of the most sacred temples in India, the Tirumala Tirupati Sri Venkateswara Temple is situated in the town of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Also known as the Tirupati Balaji Temple, it has become a focal point of contemporary religion in India, and is dedicated to Sri Venkateswara who is the presiding deity and also known by the name of Lord Balaji, Lord Srinivasa, or Seshadri.  He is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Preserver of the Universe.

The Tirupati Temple originated in Vaishnavism and Hinduism and observes the philosophy of equality, and love.  Sri Venkateswara attracts crowds of all ages, faiths and nationalities for his belief in his ability to answer prayers and perform the most improbable miracles.

The temple, in Chittoor district of southern Andhra Pradesh, is located on the seventh peak of the Tirupati Hills which lie in the Eastern ghats.   The name Venkateswara is an appelation of the name Venkatachala (Venkata Hill), the name of the seventh peak.  As such, Sri Venkateswara is also known as the Lord of Seven Hills.

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Visitor Quick Facts

[ Edit ] Famous For

Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple is famous for:

• Being the world's richest temple

• Being the most visited place of worship in the world - with between 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims visiting daily - except on special festival days when the numbers swell as much as five fold.

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[ Edit ] Location

Tirumala Tirupati Hills in Chitoor District in Andhra Pradesh, India

Distance to Tirupati from:

• Chittor: 67 kms
• Chennai: 120 kms
• Bangalore: 240 kms
• Hyderabad: 555 kms

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[ Edit ] Best Time To Visit

Given that Sri Venteswara Temple is an important pilgrimage destination, it can be visited throughout the year.

However, the most comfortable months to visit are between October to March.

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[ Edit ] Days of Operation

The Sri Venkateswara Temple is open every day throughout the year.

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[ Edit ] Hours of Operation

The Temple's hours of operation varies by the day.

On most days, On normal days the temple is open for “Sarvadarsanam” which means “darshan for all” for about 18 hours and during peak festival days it is open for about 20 hours.

A day at Tirupati Tirumala temple begins with 'Suprabhatam' ("Awakening the Lord") as early as 3:00 AM and ends with the 'Ekanta Seva' ("Putting the Lord to Sleep") around 1:00 AM the following morning.

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[ Edit ] Entry Charges & Fees

There are no entry charges to visit the Sri Venkateswara Temple.  However, there is a fee for those pilgrims who want to stand in the "express lane" to get a glimpse of the deity.

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Historical Quick Facts

[ Edit ] Type

Religious / Pilgrimage

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[ Edit ] Architecture

Dravidian style Temple architecture

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[ Edit ] Construction Period

The exact dates of construction of the original temple are unknown.  However, it is believed that the temple was first built during the 8th century.

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[ Edit ] Built By

The original Sri Venkateswara Temple was built by King Thondaiman, a Pallava.

Subsequent rulers, including the Pallvas of Kancheepuram, Cholas, Pandyas, the Vijayanagar Empire, Marathas, and the kings of Mysore all played a role in the continued growth of the temple.

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[ Edit ] History

The precise origins of the temple are not known.  However, it is generally believed that the first temple at Tirumala Tirupati was built by King Thondaiman, a Pallava, after he had a dream of Lord Vishnu. He is said to have built the original Gopuram (tower) and the Prakhara in the 8th century.

Thereafter, the temple was endowed by the numerous kings of various dynasties of South India for whom the Sri Venkateswara shrine was an important religious destination.  The dynasties include: the Pallvas of Kancheepuram (9th century); Cholas of Thanjavur (10th century), Pandyas of Madurai, and the various Kings and chieftains of Vijayanagar empire (14th - 15th century) who all donated money and gold and other ornaments in abundance in support of the temple.  During the Vijayanagar dynasty the contribution increased substantially particularly under King Krishnadevaraya whose donation of gold and jewels enabled the entire Vimana (inner shrine) to be gilded.   Subsequent rulers the Marathas, and the kings of Mysore also fostered the growth and importance of Tirupati Tirumala Temple.

Following the fall of the Hindu Kingdom, the Muslim rulers of Karnataka and thereafter the British took over the supervision of the temple.  In 1843 the administration of the shrine and its estates was formally handed over to Sri Deva Dossiji of Hatiramji Mutt at Tirupati. Subsequently, in 1932 the management of the Temple was handed over to when Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), a non-profit organisation that was established to protect this important religious heritage. The TTD runs various charitable trusts with the proceeds from the pilgrims.

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[ Edit ] Myths or Facts

Myths and facts regarding Sri Venkateswara Temple:

• Even though history suggests that a Pallava King built the temple following a dream he had about Lord Vishnu, the identity of the deity at the temple was actually under dispute until the 12th century when a famous Vaishnava scholar of the 12th century, Ramanuja, was able to confirm it. 

• The entire budget of the Sri Venkateswara Temple is funded by pilgrims through donations.  In 2007-2008, pilgrims donated over $200 million (Rs. 10+ billion).

• One of the most visible acts of faith for pilgrims who visit Tirupati, is to have their heads shaved and donate the hair to the temple - symbolising the surrendering one's ego to God. The temple organization in turn sells the hair, particularly the long hair of women, to international buyers for use as hair extensions.  Men's hair is used to extract a protein called L-Cystein that is used in a range of products including eatables.  In 2008, the Sri Venkateswara Temple generated approximately $9 million (Rs. 450 million) in proceeds from the sale of hair.

• According to the Varaha Purana, Lord Venkateswara is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and is believed to have once resided at the Swami Pushkarini, a tank / lake at Tirumala.

• According to another legend, Saint Ramanuja (of the 11th century) is said to have climbed the seven hills of Tirupati. Lord Srinivasa is believed to have appeared before him and blessed him to live till the ripe old age of 120 years so that the teachings of Sri Venkateswara could be spread.

• Many Hindus beleive, and as suggested in several Hindu religious texts, such as the Puranas and Sastras, that visiting the abode of Lord Vishnu during the holy day of Ekadasi, in the month of Vaikunta, absolves pilgrims of all their sins and helps them attain salvation. As such, Ekadasi and other Hindu festival days are very crowded and busy at Tirupati Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple. 

• A pilgrimage to Tirupati is suggested by the Rigveda and Asthadasa Puranas also.

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[ Edit ] Architecture And Structural Description

The temple has the South Indian, or Dravidian, style of temple architecture with a main Gopuram which has a glided golden cupola (Vimana) called as Ananada Nilayam over the main shrine.

The shrine has three enclosures called “Prakharams”. While the outermost enclosure comprises the Dhavajasthamba – a banner post, the other enclosures have many statues including that of the King Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar and his spouses and of Todamal, the minister of King Akbar.

The main door or outer gopuram is called “Padi Kavali Maha Dwara” which stands on a rectangular base. The architecture of the alter is of the Chola period and inscriptions on the gopuram date back to the 13th century. This gopuram has a number of stucco figures of Vaishnava Gods like Hanuman, Kevala Narasimha and Lakshmi Narasimha.

“Nandimi Padi Kavali” is the inner gopuram, the inner entrance to the temple which is reached via Dhwajasthamba Mandapa. It has wooden doors covered in silver plates and is called as “Vendi Vakili”

The path for circumnavigating the temple is called “Pradakshinam”. The main temple has three Prakarmas and between the outer and middle Parakarma is the second pathway for circumambulation which is called as “Samoangi Pradakshanam”. This pathway is closed to pilgrims and contains several of the Mandapams (halls) like the Ranga Mandapa, Pratima Mandapa, Tirumal Raya Mandapa, Aina Mahal, Dhwajasthamba Mandapa.

The temple complex inside consist of several elegantly carved doorways, mandapams and shrines. The beautiful idol of Shri Venkateswara is placed in the main sanctum sanctrum of the temple. Inside the main sanctum are also three consecutive halls - Snapana mandapam also called Tiruvilan Kovil or square hall, Rama Meda or the rectangular hall and Sayana Mandapam or Ardha Mandapam which is also rectangular in shape

The temple also consist of a kitchen area called “Potu” where the food offering for the main temple is prepared.

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[ Edit ] Things To See

Ranga Mandapam
The Ranga Mandapam, also known as Ranganayakula Mandapam it is located in the south east corner of Sampangi Pradakshinam. The shrine in this hall is believed to be the place where the Utsava Murti of Lord Ranganadha of Srirangam was kept in the 14th century, when Srirangam was occupied by Muslim rulers. The mandapa was constructed between 1320 – 1360 by Yadava ruler Shri Ranganadha Yadava Raya in the Vijayanagar style of architecture.

Pratima Mandapam
The Pratima Manadam (a Hall) gets its name from Pratimas, or bronze images of the King Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar empire and his two consorts - Tirumaladevi and Chinnadevi who are all facing the shrine with their hands joined in supplication. The hall is also called as Krishna Deva Raya Mandapa. The southern wing of this mandapam has the statue of Venkatapathi Raya of Aravidu dynasty who ruled Chandragiri in 1570. The mandapa was built in the later period of Vijayanagar rule and is filled with images of the Vijayanagara period. At the top of the two main pillars of the mandapam there are Vaishnava symbols also called “Urdhvapundras” flanked by a carving of conch and disc.

Tirumal Raya Mandapam
Adjoining the Ranga Mandapam on the western side of this hall, the Tirumal Raya Mandapam is also called Anna Unjal Mandapa. It is a large complex of pavillions with 2 levels - front at a lower level and the rear at a higher level. The mandapam also has a complex of pillars in the Vijayanagar style of architecture with the central pillar surrounded by smaller pillars some of which produce musical notes. The main pillars have rearing horses with mounted warriors. The best sculptures found here are of bold relief.

The inner portion of the mandapa was constructed in 1473 by Saluva Narasimha to celebrate the festival of Sri Venkateswara and is called as “Anna Unjal Tirunal”. Aravati Bukkaray Ramraja, Sriranga Raja and Tirumala Raja have extended the structure to its present form. It is in this mandapam that the Utsava Murthi holds his annual darbar or Asthanam during Garudadhwaja, that is to hoist the Garuda flag on Dhwajasthamba to mark commencement of Brahmotsava. In the corner of the hall are situated bronze statues of Todermal, his mother and wife.

Aina Mahal
Aina Mahal, situated on the northern side of Trirumala Raya Mandapam, consists of 2 parts - an open mandapam in the front having six rows comprising of six pillars each, and a shrine behind which consist of an Antarala and Garbhagriha. The shrine has large mirrors which reflect images in an infinite series.
An Unjal is situated in the middle of the room on which the Lord is seated during festivals.

Dhwajasthamba Mandapam
The Dhwajasthamba Mandapam houses the "Dhwajasthamba" which is a wooden flag pole encased in gold and Bali Peetha which is a seat for food offering. The position of both is according to Vaikhanasa Agamic traditions. An unusual feature of this mandapa is that it is covered to facilitate the conduct of rituals in all type of weather conditions.

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[ Edit ] Nearby Attractions

In addition to the Sri Venkateswara Temple, there are other beautiful temples to visit in Tirupati including the Papavinasanam, Vaikuntha Tirtham and Tumburu Tirtham Temples.

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[ Edit ] Other Information

• Queue System
  Given the high volume of pilgrims, between 50,000 – 100,000 daily during normal days, the Sri Venkateswara Temple authorities have designed and implemented an impressive and highly elaborate sequence and system of queues to guide devotees to the holy shrine. This has significantly dropped the amount of time spent waiting in a queue to a more manageable 3-4 hours (on normal days) for pilgrims who conduct the Sudharshanam compared to 8-10 hours in the early 1990’s.
  
  There are two primary kinds of Darshan (meaning a “Glimpse of the Lord”) at the temple. The first is the Dharma Darshan which is free and typically takes 10 hours from the time a devotee enters the Queue Complex.  The  other is Sudarshanam which costs Rs. 40 (~$1) which takes ~3 - 4 hours. The Sudarshanam process is relatively hi-tech with the use of computers and biometrics (finger printing and photo) to better manage schedules and help eliminate the involvement of touts and middlemen. The Devotes who pay for the Sudharshanam are moved up the queue until the entrance of the temple complex after which all devotees are treated equally in terms of entry into the sanctum and to gain a glimpse of Sri Venkateswara.
  
  Impressively, the authorities have worked at minimising stress on devotees during the wait time with huge halls for pilgrims to rest, eat and wash up.  Free food (Sambar  Rice / Curd Rice) and coffee & tea are served every few  hours.
  
  Following the long queue time, devotees typically only get to see the Lord’s idol for a minute or less and volunteers are present to usher in the next batch of devotees who are awaiting their turn.

• Ladoos is the most famous prasadam given at Tirumala Tirupati Venkateswara Temple.

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