Tuesday 4 September 2012

One of the World’s Richest Temple in India: Tirumala



Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala is considered as the world’s richest temple in with an estimated annual income of over 300 crores.  Tirumala is located in the Chittor District of Andhra Pradesh, in India. The Tirumala Hill is 853m above sea level and is about 10.33 square miles in area. It contains seven peaks, representing the seven heads of Adisesha, called as Seshachalam. The seven peaks are Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabhadri, Narayanadri, and Venkatadri. Lord Venkateswara swamy temple is located on Venkatadri, the seventh peak.  Lord Venkateswara is a form of the Hindu God Vishnu. Venkateswara is called as some other names, such as Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa.


Balaji in tirupati
 
This temple is the richest pilgrimage center, after the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and This is the most-visited place of worship in the world. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily, while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world. 



Lord Venkateswara in Chandana alamkaram



Darsanam at Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple: 

The entrance for srivari darshan is through the Vaikuntam QueueComplex. The complex is a series of inter-connected halls that leads to the main temple. An efficient queue system ensures that pilgrims move in an orderly fashion through the Queue Complex, towards the main temple.  Devasthanam committee Provided Food, Milk, Coffee and Tea for the waiting pilgrims free of cost. Special entry or Seeghra Darshan also available means that quick Darshan for the pilgrims. The cost of the ticket is Rs.300/- per one person.

Srivari Gopuram

Accommodation:
Thirumala Thirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) provided accommodation to pilgrims at a reasonable cost. It has constructed over 5000 cottages, Guest houses and choultries both at Thirumala and Thirupathi.


Local Temples to visit Tirumala:

1. Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple
2. Sri Varaha Swamy Temple
3. Sri Bedi Anjaneya Swamy Temple
4. Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple
5. Teerdams
 Other Places to visit Tirumala:

Silatoranam  : Sila Thoranam, the name itself means that it is naturally formed arch of rock, Sila meaning Mountain or Rock and Thoranam meaning Arch. It is about one kilometre north of Sri Varaha swami Temple. This rock formation is said to be 1500 million year old and stretches 25ft in length and 10ft in height. The natural rock formation stands as the nature s wonder and is not to be missed while on your trip to Tirupati. There are no buses available to this place but you can reach here by taxi or private vehicle. You can also walk up to the Sila Thoranam as it is just twenty minutes away from Sri Varaha Swami temple.



Silatoranam

 

Sri Venkateswara Dhyana Vignan Mandiram: The Sri Venkateswara Museum was established in 1980. Stone and wooden carvings, articles used for puja, and traditional art and architecture are displayed here. Sri Venkateswara Dhyana Vignana Mandiram has been constructed meditation halls for pilgrims.
  
Sri Venkateswara Dhyana Vignan Mandiram

Papanasanam: Papanasanam(meaning destroyer of all the sins ) is a deep hole formed by the surrounding hills and over a period of time turned into a reservoir. It is believed that having bath in this holy water dissolves sins of the devotees if they truly repent for their bad deeds. There is a dam constructed at this place that regulates the water flow. Earlier, this water was used in the temple for performing Abhishekam to the Lord.

Papanasanam

Akasha Ganga: Akasha Ganga is a sacred waterfall about 5kms to the south of the temple. The water for anointing Lord Venkateshwara is brought from this waterfall. During rainy season, this place looks even more beautiful with greenery around and with white water gushing out of the rocks. Bathing in this water is really refreshing and is said to wash away the evils and confer good fortune. Every pilgrim visiting Tirupati must and should visit this place.

Lord Venkateswara with his wives
Akasha Ganga


Srivari Padalu: "Srivari Padalu", in English means "Lord Venkateshwara s Feet . It is said to be highest peak of Tirumala Hills. Mythology says that this is the place where Lord Venkateshwara first set His foot on Earth. This foot print is found on Narayanagiri Hills.
Srivari Padalu


"GOVINDA GOVINDA"

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