The Venkateswara Temple is a significant Vaishnavite temple that may be found in the mountainous region of Tirumala, which is located in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is claimed that Lord Venkateswara, an avatar of Vishnu, came to this location to deliver humanity from the tribulations and difficulties of the Kali Yuga.
The temple is devoted to Lord Venkateswara. The Dravidian architectural style was used in the construction of the temple, which can be found perched at a height of 853 meters above the Tirumala Hills, which are located inside the Seshachalam Hills.
Tirumala is said to have become the residence of Lord Sri Venkateswara, also known as Srinivasa, Balaji, and Vekaachalapati, around five thousand years ago. Even before he existed, Lord Varahaswami had already established Tirumala as his dwelling place.
Since that time, numerous devoted individuals have worked tirelessly over the course of many generations to build magnificent entrances atop the temple’s walls. The complex of the temple is on a plot of ground that is 16.2 acres in size.
The Sri Varahaswami temple may be found at Tirumala, and it can be found in the northwest corner of the Swami Pushkarini temple pond. The temple faces east. According to the tale that is associated with the temple, Lord Srinivasa approached Sri Varahaswami in order to receive a gift of land, which Sri Varahaswami graciously bestowed upon him.
In exchange, Srinivasa gave him an agreement document that guaranteed he would get the first darshan, devotion, and sacrifices made by all the devotees that visited the temple. This was Srinivasa’s way of thanking him for his service.
At Tirumala, this devotional practice is still carried out to this day, and Lord Varahaswami continues to be honored in the same way that he has been for centuries. Even in modern times, all offerings are first brought to Lord Varahaswami, and then they are brought to Lord Sri Venkateswara.
In addition to the various streams, and springs that are abundant in the area surrounding Tirumala, the holiness and antiquity of the deity, the temple, and the hills that surround Tirumala are described in these excerpts.
The traditions about the appearance of the Lord at Tirumala that are drawn from the Venkatachala Mahatmya and the Varaha Purana are particularly interesting. These legends may be found in both of these ancient texts.
According to the Varaha Purana, Adi Varaha showed himself on the western bank of the Swami Pushkarini (temple tank), while Vishnu arrived in the form of Venkateswara to live on the southern bank of the Swami Pushkarini. Both of these events took place on the Swami Pushkarini.
There was a roaring fire on Earth that turned everything to ashes during the time period known as the eight thousand yugas. This period of time corresponds to the day and night that Brahma, the Creator, experiences. The man was forced to abandon the planet in order to find safety in Janaloka.
The god of the wind, Vayu, began his furious blowing as the evening drew closer (for Brahma). Pralaya Kalpa was the direct consequence of the formation of enormous clouds, which led to a deluge of rain (the Great Deluge). The Earth descended into the Patala Loka and stayed in that condition for a thousand years after it happened.
During the time of the Dwaparayuga, the god of the wind, Vasudeva, made his way to Vaikuntam to pay his respects to Lord Sri Vishnu. The Lord was resting in the company of Maha Lakshmi, while Adisesha was standing watch at the entrance to the room. After being stopped by Adisesha from entering the sacred abode of Sri Vishnu, Vayudeva became enraged, and the two of them engaged in furious combat with each other.
Both of them were bragging about their greater bravery and superior power when Lord Vishnu stepped in to settle the dispute. The Lord proposed that in order to determine who was the more powerful of the two, Adisesha should surround the Ananda hill, which is an offshoot of the Meru Mountain on its northern side, and Vayudeva should blow forcefully in order to release the Ananda hill from Adisesha’s strangle grip on it.
The competition became more heated, and as the globe began to shake, Brahma, Indra, and the other deities pleaded with Adisesha to hand the win over to Vayudeva for the sake of the overall well-being of the planet.
In order to comply with their demands, Adisesha let go of his grip on the hill, and as a direct consequence, both Adisesha and the Ananda hill were carried away by the wind to the banks of the river Swarnamukhi. Lord Brahma and the other gods tried to console Adisesha after he was defeated by telling him that he would be fused with the mountain Venkatadri and would become the dwelling place of Lord Vishnu.
Adisesha was inconsolable at his loss. Then, Adisesha transformed into the expansive Seshadri hill range, while his head became Venkatadri, the home of Lord Sri Venkateswara, his trunk became Ahobila, which supported Lord Narasimha, and his tail became Srisailam, which carried Lord Mallikarjuna (Lord Siva).
At the beginning of the Kali Yuga, Lord Vishnu departed Venkatadri for Sri Vaikuntam, his heavenly home. This event marked the beginning of the Kali Yuga. Because Lord Brahma was upset by the departure of the Lord, he requested that Narada convince Vishnu to come back to Venkatadri. After that, Narada made his way to the banks of the Ganga river, where a number of rishis were presiding over a religious sacrifice.
The rishis were unable to come to a conclusion on who should be the recipient of the fruit of their yaga. One of the rishis named Bhrigu took it upon himself to perform the test in order to determine which of the three primary deities, namely Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiva, is the most deserving of the heavenly gift that the Yaga has to offer.
Along with a Pushkarini, Lord Vishnu chose to make his home in an anthill that was located on Venkatadri and shaded by a tamarind tree. When Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva saw that Lord Vishnu was in a difficult situation, they felt compassion for him and took the decision to serve him in the shape of a cow and calf.
The Sun God, Surya, shared this information with Lakshmi and asked her to fulfill his request by posing as a cattle caretaker in order to sell the cow and her calf to the king of the Chola country. Along with the rest of his herd of cattle, the Chola monarch sent the cow and her calf to Venkata Hill so that they may graze there.
After finding Lord Vishnu dwelling in the anthill, the holy cow made it a daily practice to empty her udder into the anthill, therefore providing food for the Lord. The queen became concerned when she saw that the cow was not producing any milk over the course of some time, and she reprimanded the cowherd harshly for the cow’s odd behavior.
Following the cow in an effort to determine what was causing the problem, the cowherd came to the startling realization that the cow was emptying her udder directly into the anthill. The cowherd was so enraged that he aimed a blow with his axe at the top of the cow’s head, but he mistakenly struck Lord Vishnu, who was standing on an anthill at the time. Lord Vishnu took the blow in order to save the cow’s life.
When the cowherd saw Lord Vishnu bleeding, he collapsed to the ground and died. As soon as the cowherd passed away, the cow made her way back to the king, this time with blood marks all over her body and bellowing in front of the Chola King. A worried monarch followed the cow to the location of the accident, which was an anthill, and there he discovered the cowherd dead on the ground.
While the King stood there perplexed as to how it had occurred, Lord Vishnu emerged from the anthill and cast a curse on him, saying that he would become an Asura (demon) because of the actions of his servant. After being appeased by the king, who protested his innocence, the Lord bestowed upon him the blessing of announcing that the monarch’s curse would be lifted. When he was crowned with the Kireetam (crown) that had been given to Akasa Raja by Sri Padmavati’s husband at the time of their wedding.
The cowherd’s Atma (spirit) received the rare boon from the Lord as an act of atonement for the sins of raising the axe against the Lord. As a result of this, he and his descendants will eventually have the privilege of opening the main door in the Lord’s sanctum sanctorum. This will allow them to atone for their sins.
Eventually, the Chola monarch was reincarnated as Akasa Raja, and despite the fact that he was an effective ruler, he was very unhappy with the fact that he did not have any children. During the course of his duties as a yaga, he was plowing the fields when he discovered a newborn girl concealed behind a lotus flower.
He gave her the name Alarmel mangai, which translates to “Lady born in Lotus petals,” and raised her as his own daughter. Lord Vishnu underwent reincarnation in the form of Srinivasa, also known as “presenting himself after penance on the ant-hill.” Srinivasa was born as the son of the saint Vakula Malika Devi, who was an old lady.
In a past incarnation, Vakula Devi had the name Yasoda and was Lord Krishna’s foster mother. She was sad in that existence since she was unable to witness Krishna’s marriage. As a result of the gift that she had received from Krishna, she was reincarnated as Vakula Devi and had the incredible opportunity to see the holy couple as they exchanged vows in a celestial ceremony.
Princess Padmavati matured into a lovely young woman over the course of time, and during that period, Saint Narada paid her a visit. When he read her palm, he saw that she was destined to be the bride of Lord Vishnu himself. This was the prophecy that he made. After some time had passed, Lord Srinivasa was out on a hunting expedition when he came upon a wild elephant in the jungle.
He was taken into a garden by the elephant, and there he saw Princess Padmavati and her attendants having fun. They, along with their Princess, were terrified when they caught sight of the elephant. The moment Lord Srinivasa materialized in front of the Elephant, it abruptly turned around, said a prayer to the Lord, and then vanished into the surrounding jungle.
Princess Padmavathi was brought to the attention of Lord Srinivasa, who then questioned her attendants about her. Because of the hypnotic allure of her appearance, Lord Srinivasa became disinterested in other pursuits and confided in his foster mother Vakula Devi about his feelings for Padmavathi. He also told her that he was Lord Vishnu and told her about her previous lives as his foster mother and later as Yasodha. In her previous life, she was known as Yasodha.
After leaving her hermitage, Vakula Devi went to see Akasa Raja and present him with a marriage proposal for Lord Srinivasa and Padmavathi. In the meanwhile, a worried Lord Srinivasa traveled to the city posing as a fortune teller dressed as a woman. After returning to the palace, Princess Padmavathi felt unwell and gave her heart to Lord Srinivasa, who had already broken it.
Since the maids were unable to determine the cause of their princess’ illness, they decided to see a fortune teller find out what the future holds for her. She was able to regain her health and rejoice once the Lord, disguised as a fortune-teller woman, told Padmavathi that she was destined to wed Lord Vishnu in his incarnation as Lord Srinivasa. This caused Padmavathi to recover from her illness.
When the monarch learned of this information, Vakula disclosed herself to him and begged for his daughter’s hand in marriage to her son, Lord Srinivasa. The king agreed to this request. The joyful monarch enthusiastically accepted, and his adviser Bhrihaspati was the one who penned the invitation for the wedding between the two divine creatures known as Srinivasa and Padmavathi.
Goddess Maha Lakshmi, who had left the lord in the past in a huff after sage Bhrigu kicked Lord Vishnu on his chest, her dwelling place, came to know that her husband married again approximately six months after this celestial marriage and came to see him in disbelief. This event took place approximately six months after this celestial marriage.
It is reported that when the Lord’s two wives confronted him about his remarriage, he immediately transformed himself into a statue made of stone and stood there in front of them. Then, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva make an appearance in front of the perplexed queens and explain the primary goal that lies at the heart of all of this convoluted episode: the Lord’s desire to be on the holy seven hills in order to free mankind from the unending tribulations that have been inflicted by the Kali Yuga.
The goddesses Lakshmi and Padmavathi also transform into stone idols in order to convey their desire to remain with their Lord for all of eternity. Both Goddess Lakshmi and Goddess Padmavati remained with him, but Goddess Padmavati reclined on the right side of his chest while Goddess Lakshmi stayed on the left.