The Temple on the Hill

AROUND 200BCE, Tolkappiyar, the Tamil grammarian, mentions the hill of Venk­adam as populated by tribes, with many festivals. Venkadam in Tamil could mean “burning debts” (ven-kadan), a reference to Venkatesha’s loan from Kubera, or “burning slopes” (ven-kadam), a reference to frequent forest fires. He delineates Venkadam as the northern boundary of Tamilagam (Tamil Nadu). The hill is part of the Seshachalam Hills located in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. Venkatadri or Venkatachalam is one of the seven peaks. The temple of Venkateshwara or Venkatesa or Balaji or Srinivasa is located on the hill. The Lord stands alone, collecting money to pay off his loan to Kubera, goes the legend.

The temple of Venkateshwara is believed to have been built by Tondaiman, an ancient ruler of Kanchipuram and a possible ancestor of the Pallavas. In 966CE, Pallava queen Samavai donated a stone-studded gold plate, jewels and two parcels of land for the temple and for its festivals. The stone image of Venkateshwara certainly resembles a Pallava image, but a wooden or stucco image must have existed earlier.

Venkateshwara is mentioned by the early Alvars (Vaishnava saints). Bhutatalvar describes him as a combination of Shiva and Vishnu, with “flowing matted locks, a high peaked crown… a snake coiling around him,” besides snakes on each arm, and a crescent on his forehead—symbols of Shiva. Peyalvar describes him as “The two forms (of Shiva and Vishnu) gracefully blended into One,” while Nammalvar concedes that the three forms of Rudra, Brahma and Lakshmi have merged in him. Poygaialvar says:

His name is Haran (Hara or Shiva) and Naranan (Narayana),
His vehicle is the bull (Nandi) and the bird (Garuda),
His word is the book and Veda,
His residence is the hills (Kailasa) and the waters (ocean of milk),
His function is destruction and protection,
His weapon is the trident and the disc,
His form, though One, is fire and dark cloud.

The image was obviously an early form of Hari-Hara. The Tamil epic Silappadikaram says that the sun and the moon shone on the image, suggesting that it once stood in the open. Venkateshwara held a chakra and a shulam (trishul or trident)—both were later covered by a golden chakra and golden conch by the Vaishnava preacher Ramanujacharya in the 11th century CE, who issued strict instructions that they must never be removed, which is still obeyed. This temple is sacred to Smarthas, Shaivas and Vaishnavas. The chief priest is always a Dikshita (Dikshitulu) or Smartha Brahmin, one who follows the Smritis, believes in Brahman as a supreme being with many manifestations, and worships the major gods of the Hindu pantheon. The other priests include both Vaishnavas and Shaivas. The temple thus uniquely avoids sectoral divisions.

The presiding deity Venkateshwara faces east, his lower two hands in the varada (giving) and katyavilambita (paying homage) hastas, while the upper two hold the attributes. The temple follows the Vaikhanasa Agama tradition and is regarded as the 75th Divya Desam, one of the 108 temples sacred to Vishnu, mentioned in the Naalaayira Divya Desam of the Tamil Vaishnavas.

In 1303, Alauddin Khilji sent his general Malik Kafur on a loot­ing spree of the south. On hearing of his approach, the local people of Srirangam walled up the sanctum and smuggled the bronze processional image away to Tirumala, which was too inaccessible for the invader.

IN 1336, THE region became part of the Vijayanagara Empire. The processional image returned to Srirangam. While the Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu dynasties were great devotees who were responsible for the temple structure and architecture, the greatest patronage was received from King KrishnadevarayaandhisbrotherAchyutaraya, bothofwhommade costly gifts of diamonds, gold, jewellery and land, and supported several festivals. In the 16th century, Krishnadevaraya covered the Ananda Nilayam, the vimana above the garba griha (sanctum sanc­torum), withgold. Krishnadevarayaalsoinstalledstatuesofhimself and histwoqueensin worship, whichcan stillbe seen in the temple.

In 1724, Asaf Jah, Nizam of Hyderabad, appointed Daud Khan as Nawab of the Carnatic. The nawab demanded an annual tribute of two lakh to leave the temple alone. To earn this amount, several lev­ies were introduced: fees for reciting mantras, tonsuring the head, lighting camphor, attending the archana, offering a cloth or a food item, and so on. The harassment by the nawab forced the temple to charge the pilgrims for nearly everything. Thus, contributing cash or jewellery to the temple became a sacred deed and pilgrims forked out whatever they could. In 1801, the East India Company took over the revenues, away from the nawab. In 1843, the Company handed over the management to the mahants of Hathiramji Mutt, till the government of the erstwhile Madras Presidency took it over in 1933 and put it under a board of trustees.

When the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed, there was much controversy between the Tamils, who wanted Tirumala, and the Telugus, who wanted Madras City. The States Reorganisation Com­mission, formed in 1956, merged Tirumala with Andhra Pradesh, saying that Chittoor had a Telugu-speaking majority, and Madras with Tamil Nadu. When the atheist and anti-Hindu Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power in Tamil Nadu, this was regarded as divine intervention by the state’s Hindus. Indian politicians and their families are regular visitors to the temple, in­cluding Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s wife and the Bud­dhist presidents of Sri Lanka.

Several legends are associated with the hill, including the belief that, after defeating the demon Hiranyaksha, Varaha settled here, making it a Varahakshetra. Shridevi or Lakshmi had left for Kolha­pur while Bhudevi was born as Padmavathi in a temple at Ti­ruchanur, at the foot of the hill. Venkateshwara had told his mother that he was Rama in a previous birth and would be reunited with Sita, reborn as Padmavathi, in this Kali Yuga. The marriage was arranged, but Venkatesha had no money to perform the wedding. So he took a loan from Kubera, promising to repay him in a thousand years. Lak­shmi arrived for the wedding and took her position on Venkatesha’s chest, hence his name is Shrinivasa or “the dwelling place of Shri”. Venkatesha requested Lakshmi to enrich his devotees who contrib­uted to his wedding with wealth; hence pilgrims offer money and jewels in the hundi to help him pay off his debts.

It is believed that Lord Venkateshwara enjoys festivals (utsavam), and therefore, the temple has several festivals. The most important is the Brahmotsavam in the month of Bhadrapada.

Over the years, the number of sevas and special darshans has increased. The Devasthanam has built long, covered queues to manage the crowd, made it disabled-friendly, senior citizen-friendly, internet-friendly, etc. But the crowds go on increasing: currently, a staggering 12 million annually.

The list of miracles associated with the temple is endless, but two famous recorded miracles stand out. Sir Thomas Munro, a for­mer governor of Madras Presidency, suffered from acute incurable stomach pain. He was advised to take a vow that he would visit Tirumala if cured. He was cured and visited Tirumala where, al­though he could not enter the temple, he created an endowment for a daily offering of a gangalam (a huge vessel) of pongal, and gifted the village of Kottavayulu in Chittoor district for this purpose. His gift is still known as Munro gangalam. Another was Lord Williams who was cured of an incurable illness and instituted a drinking water service along the footpath up the hill, a charity continued till today. A former executive officer, PVRK Rao has recorded his own. Tirumala’s fame comes from the belief that Lord Venkateshwara possesses infinite ability to grant the wishes of His true devotees.

The temple is administered by the Tirumala Tirupati Devast­hanams (TTD), a board of trustees appointed by the government of Andhra Pradesh. Accommodation is provided for every visitor to the temple, from free choultries for the poor to air-conditioned suites for the rich. A lot of money is spent on providing civic ame­nities, maintaining roads for vehicles and the pathway up the hill for climbers, supplying water and providing free food. The Devast­hanam runs Veda Pathashalas, schools, colleges, museums, reha­bilitation for the disabled, schools for the deaf and the handicapped, Sri Venkateswara University, Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidya­layam, a veterinary university and many others. The afforestation of the hill has made it a centre of bio­diversity and wildlife. The sources of income are many: darshan and seva tickets and hundi offerings, in­cluding the sale of laddus as divine prasadam. The administration is carried out by the executive officer, nowadays an IAS officer. There have been many who developed the temple and its properties: the legendary C Anna Rao; IV Subba Rao, a great scholar; PVRK Rao, who reformed the temple manage­ment to make it people-friendly; and many others.

Today, when faith is in question, Venkateshwara still draws humongous crowds from all over India. For He is regarded as a symbol of the triumph of good over evil, hope over despair, faith over doubt, humility over arrogance, charity over wealth and a respect for earth and nature. In a fast-changing world, Venkateshwara represents a rock of stability and traditional value systems that people respect. That is why the pilgrims call out “Go­vinda” to their Lord as they climb the pathway up the hill or enter the sanctum sanctorum.

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