SRii viSH`ANu PILGRIMAGE DRAWS UNUSUALLY LARGE NUMBER OF PILGRIMAGE IN MARCH 2005 WHICH IS THE MONTH OF faalguAN IN veDik CALENDAR????......
Posted by Vishva News Reporter on April 1, 2005

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Temples
changes Darshan routine for first time
To alleviate rush of devotee pilgrims

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[, MARCH 27, 2005: TIRUPATI:

A heavy rush of pilgrims on Saturday forced the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to modify their darshan procedures, something that has never happened in the temple's history. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams sources said the new rule was applied due to the sheer pressure of the pilgrims.

On Saturday, devotees were stopped from entering the sanctum sanctorum thereby barring darshan from close quarters. Tirumala has over the past few days been witnessing an unusually large number of pilgrims, which official sources put in lakhs.

Up until the new rule was enforced, pilgrims could walk up to Ramulavari Meda, 25 feet away from the deity. On Saturday, they were allowed access till the dwarpalakas, 50 feet away. The dwarpalakas stand at the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum.

The idea was to ensure that no pilgrim leaves the shrine without getting a darshan after having sweated it out in queues for close to 60 hours, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams special officer A V Dharma Reddy explained.

He described Saturday's change in procedure as a trial run and added the new system would help people have a darshan within 24 hours of their arrival at Tirumala.

In a further fine-tuning of his plans, he said he might introduce a ramp at the entrance to the sanctum sanctorum which would help people get a clearer view. Lighting inside the shrine too would be improved.

The new system, he said, was introduced on Saturday morning and within four -and-a-half-hours, over 40,000 people had darshan and 39 compartments full of pilgrims cleared. By the close of day, 12 more compartments had been cleared. Srinivas, a devotee at the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, said: "If we were allowed inside the sanctum sanctorum, we would have had a better view of the Lord. But instead of waiting for 60 hours and going without darshan, getting it from a distance is better."

HPI adds: A few years ago, there was a serious proposal to install a conveyor belt to transport the pilgrims past the sanctum in an attempt to address the same problem

Sri Venkateswara Swamy against the backdrop of the Golden Vimanam

 

 

 

 

 

The 1200 year old temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara located at Tirupati in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The town of Tripati owes its existence to the sacred temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara situated on the Tirumala Hill adjoining it. The ancient and sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara is located on the seventh peak, Venkatachala (Venkata Hill) of the Tirupati Hill, and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini. The temple of Sri Venkateswara has acquired unique sanctity in Indian religious lore. The Sastras, Puranas, Sthala Mahatyams and Alwar hymns unequivocally declare that, in the Kali Yuga, one can attain mukti, only by worshipping Venkata Nayaka or Sri Venkateswara. The Tirumala Hill is 3200 ft above sea level, and is about 10.33 sq miles in area. It comprises seven peaks, representing the seven hoods of Adisesha, thus earning the name, Seshachalam. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrishabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. Adhisesha is the naag (cobra) which has infinite number of heads upholding infinite number of bRHmaaND (universes) and Sri Vishnu, as a manifested form of creator bRH`m, rests in the mode of yog-ninNDRaa in its coiled lap as shown in the picture below.

Above: Sage Bhrigu approaching Sri Maha Vishnu and Sri Maha Lakshmi; Below:  Sri Adi Varaha bringing up the Earth on His tusks

Top picture: Sage Bhrigu approaching Sri Maha Vishnu and Sri Maha Lakshmi;
Bottom picture: Sri Adi Varaha (3rd avtaar of Sri Vishnu)bringing up the Earth on His tusks"
 

Please click on the next line below to continue knowing all you wish about..... Tirupati, the place of pilgrimage for the devotees of Sri ViSH`ANu, .....which has its origin in the texts of 108 puraaAN (history) which contains veD meaning SCIENCES OF LIFE AND CREATION ....in puraaANo veD is explained in the very simplistic form of histories of creation, sustenance of created and cyclic re-creation of the created....This news publication is part of continual veD study at PVAF for the current humanity who have amnesia for veD knowledge and shows no inclination to learn veD due to effect of kli-Daev who is the presiding deity of the current veDik time era called kli-yug.....



 

All the information below is from the web site Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and you can learn all you wish about this 1200 year old place of pilgrimage dedicated to Sri Vishnu by clicking on the preceding red name hilite and visiting the web site.


"There is no other God like Lord Venkateswara who can give us the assurance of protection.
There is no other teertham (divine lake) like Lord Venkateswara's Pushkarini.
The Lord's crown has the beauty of one crore Kandarpas.
The Lord's chest, which is decorated with garlands is Goddess Lakshmi's abode.
The Lord's manifestation has four arms, with two holding the sanku and chakra.
The Lord is 'Neelameghavarnam' (blue-complexioned).
I salute this Lord Vishnu, who is accompanied by His consorts, Sridevi and Bhudevi."

(slok from varaah puraan)

 

Temple History
(From  Temple's web site)

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.

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.

 

TEMPLE'S puraaAN (history in veDik texts)

 

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.



 

If you have knowledge of why there is a sudden surge of SRi Vishnu devotees at Tirupati please share that knowledge with others worldwide by just clicking o the POST A COMMENT button in the header of this news item and write away as much as you wish and as many times as you wish.....



There are 1 additional comments.

#1 Posted by edith benson on 4/6/2005
From Mrs Edith Benson.

Dearest One:

I am the above named person from South Africa. I am married to Mr William Benson who worked with South African embassy here in Cote D'ivoire for nine years before he died in the year 2002. We were married for eleven years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days. Before his death we were both born again Christian.

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development. With God all things are possible.

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must serve him in spirit and Truth.

Please always be prayerful all through your life Contact me on this e-mail address(mrs edith0022004@yahoo.it
) for more informations, any delay in your reply will give me room in sourching another church or individual for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein.

Hoping to receive your reply.

Remain blessed in the Lord.

Yours in Christ,

Mrs.Edith Benson.


 

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