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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 |

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.

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"
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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.....
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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)
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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.
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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.
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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.
Since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $2 Million (Two Million U.S. Dollars)in one of the Bank here in Abidjan in a suspence account.
Recently, my Doctor told me that i have serious sickness which is cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church or individual that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a church that will use this fund for orphanages, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavor that the house of God is maintained. The Bible made us to understand that Blessed is the hand that giveth.
I took this decision because I don’t have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are not Christians and I don’t want my husband’s efforts to be used by unbelievers. I don’t want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision. I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going.
I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace. I don’t need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband’s relatives around me always. I don’t want them to know about this development. With God all things are possible.
As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Bank here in Abidjan. I will also issue you an authority letter that will prove you the present beneficiary of this fund. I want you and the church to always pray for me because the lord is my shephard. My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that Wants to serve the Lord 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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