The earliest inscriptions available in T.T. Devasthanams
Epigraphical Series is an inscription belonged to Pallavas. The Pallavas were
the successors to the great Andhra Satavahanas as rulers in South India. In the
heyday of the Andhra Satavahanas, the Pallavas started as Governors of the
Southern areas of the great Andhra Empire, and were subordinate to the Andhra
Satavahanas. It is well known that the early Satavahanas were mentioned in the
inscriptions of Asoka (about 274 BC) and has Paithan on the Godavari as their
capital. The early Satavahanas were patrons of the Vedic religion. The later
Satavahanas who continued reigning in India upto AD 200 for about two centuries
processed and ruled the whole of Deacon from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of
Bengal, Berar and Malava, while their empire in the North extended upto the
vindhyas.
Thondaiman, a Pallava king with his capital at
Mahabalipuram, just south of modern day Chennai), is believed to have first
built the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in his dream. He built the
Gopuram and the Praharam, and arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in
the temple. The Pallava inscriptions of the Temple throw some light on the
temple administration of the period. An important inscription is that of the
Pallava queen Samavai, who consecrated the idol of Boga Srinivasa in the
temple. This inscription which is dated AD 966 mentions the administrative
machinery of the temple at Tirumala, the relevant portion of the inscription
reads thus. "All the services, the managers of the temple on Tiruvenkadam
shall have conducted and the Sabhaiyar shall protect the land, from being
taxed.”
From this, it is obvious that there were some managers
in the temple and that the Sabhaiyar referred to, is perhaps the village
council of Tiruchanur, which appears to have had control over the affairs of
the temple at this time. This is evident from a number of inscriptions
pertaining to Pallava rulers such as Narasimha Varma I1 (700-728 AD), Parameswara
Varman I11 (728-731 AD) Nandivarman 11 (73 1-796 AD), Dantivarman (796-847 AD)
Nandivarman 111 (846-869 AD), and Nripatunga Varman (859-899 AD) and Aparajitha
(885-903 AD) found in this District.
There are two records from Dantivarman (775-826 AD).
These inscriptions contain gifts made not to the temple on the Vengadam but to
the temple, situated in Tiruchanur. The temple was more or less a forest
temple, located in an inaccessible range of hills up to the eighth century AD.
It is not possible to obtain much regarding the temple administration upto this
time. Even after this period the temple remained inaccessible and it is a fact
that the Tirumala area was itself considered for several centuries to be unfit
for anyone to settle down permanently. The conditions in the early ages of
history were hostile for human habitation. This was perhaps the reason why a
proxy image of the lord of Tirumalai was kept and worshipped in Tiruchanur
temple in the plains as is seen from the inscriptions dated to Dantivarman
Pallava (AD 830).
It recorded a deposit of 30 Kalanju (of gold) as the
capital for a lamp (intended) for the image of Tiruvaialankoil Perumandigal installed
as representation of Tiruvenkata emperumandigal (Sri Venkateswara). The above
inscriptions show that a Tiruvaialankoil Perumandigal a representation of Sri
Venkateswara of Tirumala, was installed at Tiruchanur and worshipped. This
arrangement was perhaps made to assist pilgrims to worship the lord who were
not in a position to undertake the adverse journey up the hill. In these early
ages, the temple must have been visited by the lord's devotees in large numbers
only on certain special occasions such as Brahmothsava festival. On other days,
the worship must have been conducted every day by a priest or a small body of
priests living down in the plains.
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