Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala – Worship & Religious Practices

Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala – Worship & Religious Practices

Poojas

The temple follows "Vaikhanasa Agama" tradition of worship, which is believed to be revealed by Sage Vikhanasa and is propagated by his disciples Atri, Bhrigu, Marichi, Kasyapa. Vaikhanasa is one of the principal traditions of Hinduism and primarily worships Vishnu (and his associated Avatars) as the Supreme God. This ancient text recommends six times puja (worship) a day for Vishnu, of which minimum one puja is mandatory. Rituals are classified as daily, weekly and periodical.

The daily Sevas in Temple(in order of occurrence) include Suprabhata Seva, Thomala Seva, Archana, Kalyanothsavam, Dolotsavam (Unjal Seva), Arjita Brahmotsavam, Arjita Vasanthotsavam, Sahasra Deepalankarana Seva, Ekantha Seva. Weekly Sevas of the Temple include Vishesha Pooja on Monday, Ashtadala Pada Padmaradhana on Tuesday, Sahasra Kalasa Abhishekam on Wednesday, Tiruppavada Seva on Thursday, Abhishekam and Nijapada Darshanam on Friday. There are no weekly Sevas on Saturday and Sunday. Periodical rituals include Jyestabhishekam, Anivara Asthanam, Brahmotsavam, Pavitrotsavam, Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam.

Neivedhyam

The world-famous "Tirupati Laddu" is given at Tirumala Temple as prasadam. Tirupati Laddu had got Geographical indication tag which entitles only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to make or sell it. Many other Prasadams are also offered to Venkateswara which will then be distributed to devotees, including daddojanam (curd rice), puliyothara (tamarind rice), Vada and Chakkara Pongal (sweet Pongal), miryala-pongali, Appam, Payasam, Jilebi, Muruku, Dosa, seera (Kesari), Malhora. Free meals are given daily to the pilgrims. On Thursdays, the Tiruppavada Seva is conducted, where food items are kept as neivedhyam to Lord Venkateswara.

Darshan

More than 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims have Darshan of presiding deity, Lord Venkateswara, while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavams, the number of pilgrims visiting the temple shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world. To manage the huge number of Devotees visiting the temple, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam constructed two Vaikuntam Queue Complexes: one in the year 1983 and the other in the year 2000. Vaikuntam Queue complexes have rooms where Devotees can sit and wait until their turn for Darshan. According to tradition, it is important for a devotee to have darshan of Bhu Varaha Swamy temple lying on the northern banks of Swami Pushkarini before having Darshan of Lord Venkateswara in the main temple.

Recently, the administration introduced a separate queue for pedestrian pilgrims. Free but limited number of biometric tokens are issued for the pilgrims to access this special queue. Tokens are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. The pilgrims can worship Lord Venkateswara on the allotted time slots issued in the token. There are two entry points for the foot-path pilgrims: Alipiri Mettu and Srivari Mettu. Alipiri Mettu is open round the clock, whereas Srivari Mettu is open from 6am - 6pm.

Hair Tonsuring

Many devotees have their head tonsured as "Mokku", an offering to God. The daily amount of hair collected is over a ton. As per legend, when Lord Venkateswara was hit on his head by a shepherd, a small portion of his scalp became bald. This was noticed by Neela Devi, a Gandharva princess. She felt that such an attractive face should not have a flaw. Immediately, she cut a portion of her hair and, with her magical power, implanted it on his scalp. Lord Venkateswara noticed her sacrifice. As hair is a beautiful asset of the female form, he promised her that all his devotees who come to his abode would offer their hair to him, and she would be the recipient of all the hair received. Hence, it is believed that hair offered by the devotees is accepted by Neela Devi. The hill, Neeladri, one of the seven hills, is named after her.

Hundi (Donation Pot)

As per legend, it is believed that Srinivasa had to make arrangements for his wedding. Lord Kubera credited money to Lord Venkateswara (a form of the god Vishnu) for his marriage with Padmavathi. Srinivasa sought a loan of one crore and 11.4 million (11,400,000) coins of gold from Kubera and had Vishwakarma, the divine architect, create heavenly surroundings in the Seshadri hills. Together, Srinivasa and Padmavathi lived for all eternity while Goddess Lakshmi, understanding the commitments of Lord Vishnu, chose to live in his heart forever. In remembrance of this, devotees go to Tirupati to donate money in Venkateshwara’s hundi (donation pot) so that he can pay it back to Kubera. The hundi collections go as high as 22.5 million INR a day.

Thulabaram

In the Thulabaram ritual, a devotee sits on a pan of a weighing balance and the other pan is filled with materials greater than the weight of the devotee. Devotees usually offer sugar, jaggery, Tulsi leaves, banana, gold, coins. This is mostly performed with newborn babies or children.