Tirupati temple a symbol of religious faith and cultural unity

Tirupati Temple is a symbol of faith and cultural unity, a symbol of our eternal faith, a symbol of national spirit. Tirupati Balaji is the faith of India, the ideal of India. Balaji belongs to everyone, is in everyone and his omnipresence shows India’s character of unity in diversity. Cultural economy gets strength from the symbols of faith. Promotion of Sanskrit is the duty of the nation.

Tirupati Balaji Temple Apni Religious Beliefs and Scientific Mysteries Due to which it is the most famous temple of India. Symbol of India’s culture and faith.

Rabindranath Tagore Gore has said, ‘India chose places of pilgrimage where there was some especial grace or beauty in nature, so that her mind could rise above narrow needs and become aware of its position in the infinite.’ Tirupati Balaji Bhagwan is the symbol of India’s cultural consciousness. There is deep faith and loyalty towards Balaji in the country.

Pilgrimages are the attractions of the Indian mind. Generally, sightseeing at delightful places is called tourism, whereas traveling to religious places with reverence is called pilgrimage. Tourist is consumer and pilgrim is cultural. There is joy in the person-family who have returned from pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is an extraordinary belief. This belief is very ancient. Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha are the four Purusharthas in Indian culture. Artha and Kama are the only two pursuits in tourism, but Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha are all four Purusharthas in pilgrimage.

History | Tirupati Balaji: History and Heritage

The Tirupati temple has been an important center of worship for thousands of years and was patronized by the Raya dynasty of Vijayanagara from the Pallavas in the south. Lakhs of devotees visit this temple even today.

The temple is located on the Tirumala or Tirumalaya hill in the city of Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It is part of the Seshachalam range in the Eastern Ghats consisting of seven peaks. Devotees believe that these seven peaks represent the seven hoods of Nagraj Adish. Looking at the mountain range, it seems as if a snake is sitting in a coil.

The earliest mention of Lord Sri Venkateswara of Tirumala is said to be found in Tolkappiyam, a Tamil literary text from the 2nd century BCE. Sri Venkateswara is known as the Lord of the Seven Mountains and is believed to have been an incarnation of Lord Vishnu in Kali Yuga (one of the four kingdoms of the world according to Hinduism). It is said that the idol of the main deity here is a self-manifested idol. For this reason the temple is considered a holy place for all its devotees.

There are many stories and legends about the temple in the Puranas. According to the Varaha Purana, the temple was built by a Tondaman ruler. King Tondaman discovered this temple from a bambi (ant hill) and then got it built and started worshiping here. Tondaman is said to have started many festivals in the temple.

There is a mention of the expansion and donation of the original temple. The temple was expanded and donated by the Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara Raya dynasties from the 9th century onwards. The walls, pillars and gopurams of the temple have over 600 inscriptions in Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit languages. These tell us about the temple’s splendor and wealth from the gradual rise of the temple under the Pallava rulers in the 9th century to the Vijayanagara king Krishnadeva Raya and his successor Achyutadeva Raya in the 17th century.

The changing political scenario in Tondaimandalam had its impact on the temple and the administration of the temple.

The Tirumala-Tirupati region was later merged into Thondamandalam.

The inscriptions of Pallava rule found in the temple refer to donations for lighting, food and administration of the temple started by the Pallava rulers. Interestingly, Samavai, the wife of the Chola king Raja-I under the Pallavas, was one of the donors to the temple around 966. He donated two lands and lots of ornaments to the temple.

Thondamandalam was captured by the Chola king Aditya-I in the 10th century and from then on remained a part of the Chola Empire until the middle of the 13th century. The Chola kings not only expanded the temple but also played an important role in the administration of the temple. Managers were appointed for the management of the temple, on which the officers of the Chola kings looked after them.

The next phase in the history of Thondamandalam was very important for Tirupati Balaji Temple. The region was conquered by the Vijayanagara dynasty in 1336 and it remained a part of that empire until the end of the Chola dynasty. It was during the reign of the Vijayanagara kings that the temple received maximum protection and this increased its wealth and glory. Tirumala and Tirupati saw their rise during the rule of the Sangama dynasty, Saluva dynasty, Tuluva dynasty and Aravidu dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire (14th to 17th century).

Records show that Mahamandeshwar Mangidev, the chief vassal of the Sangam dynasty, installed a gold urn on the top of the temple in 1369 by placing a gold urn in the sanctum sanctorum. According to records from 1495, Narasimha Raya of the Saluva dynasty started the Teej-festival in the temple and built a garden and a gopuram. He donated about a dozen villages for the maintenance of the temple.

Krishnadeva Raya and Achyutadeva Raya, the two prominent rulers of the Tuluva dynasty, were devotees of Sri Venkateswara and donated a lot to the temple. One of the prominent kings of Vijayanagara, Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529), donated about twenty villages to the temple as a grant. He considered Sri Venkateswara as his presiding deity. About 85 inscriptions found in the Tirupati temple mention the visit of Krishnadeva Raya and his wives to Tirumala and the donations made by them to the temple. There was great prosperity during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya, this is known from the fact that nobles, soldiers and royal officials of that time used to donate money to the temple. In lieu of his donation, religious rites and rituals were performed in the temple in his name. The king also donated many gold and silver utensils, jewelery etc. to the temple. The gold bracelet in the temple of Tirupati Venkateswara is said to have been made by Krishnadeva Raya.

Mr. Venkateswara Of Sculpture

Although Vijayanagara declined in the 17th century, the Wadiyars of Mysore and the Bhonsle rulers of Nagpur continued to support the temple.

At that time the Tirumala-Tirupati region was occupied by the Sultans of Golconda until the middle of the 17th century. After this the French captured Tirupati in 1758 and they tried to strengthen their financial position with the revenue from the temple. The region was also ruled by the Nawabs of Carnatic who ruled the Carnatic regions of South India (the region of South India between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal) between 1690 and 1801.

After the arrival of the British in India in the early 19th century, the management of the temple passed into the hands of the East India Company. The East India Company started keeping an eye on the management of the temple, income from it, sources of income, worship and other rituals of worship etc. It is said that between 1801 and 1811 the revenue of the Tirupati temple was one lakh rupees. The temple administration was reshuffled in the middle of the 19th century.

Saint Hathiram Bhavji or Hathiram Baba devotee of North India in 1500 In 1500, Saint Hathiram Bhavji or Hathiram Baba of North India came to the temple and became a devotee of Sri Venkateswara. Between 1843 and 1932 the Math took over the responsibility of the temple as an executive committee or intermediary. In 1932, the Madras government passed the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Act, under which a trust was created for the temple, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. After independence, when the Indian states were divided on the basis of language, Tirupati and the temple were moved to Andhra Pradesh.

Today Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has become a big organization, under which not only Tirupati temple comes, but also the entire Tirupati city. This trust also takes care of the seven hills from Tirupati Municipal Corporation to the abode of Vishnu.

Tags: Tirupati temple, Symbol of religious faith, Symbol of Cultural unity, Symbol of national spirit, Unity in diversity, Promotion of Sanskrit, Lord Sri Venkateswara of Tirumala, Tondaman ruler, Pallava, Chola, Vijayanagara Raya dynasties