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| Venkateswara Temple | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hinduism |
| District | Tirupati |
| Deity | Venkateswara |
| Festivals | Srivari Brahmotsavam, Vaikunta Ekadashi, Ratha Saptami |
| Governing body | Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams |
| Location | |
| Location | Tirumala |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| Country | India |
.svg)  Location in Andhra Pradesh | |
| Geographic coordinates | 13°40′59.7″N 79°20′49.9″E / 13.683250°N 79.347194°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | South Indian architecture |
| Creator | Veera Narasingadeva Krishnadevaraya Veera Rakshasa Krishnadevaraya Ranganatharaya[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Temple(s) | 1 |
| Inscriptions | Kannada, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu[2][3] |
| Elevation | 853 m (2,799 ft) |
| Website | |
| www | |
| Part of a series on |
| Hinduism |
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| Vaishnavism |
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The Venkateswara Temple of Tirumala, called Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple, is a Hindu temple situated in the hills of Tirumala at Tirupati Urban Mandal in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared on the earth to save mankind from trials and troubles of Kali Yuga. Hence the place is also known by the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntha and the deity here is referred to as Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam. The temple is also known by other names like Tirumala Temple, Tirupati Temple and Tirupati Balaji Temple. Venkateswara is also known by other names including Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa.[4] The temple is run by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which is under control of Andhra Pradesh Government. The head of TTD is appointed by Andhra Pradesh Government.
Tirumala hills are part of Seshachalam Hills range. The hills are 853 metres (2,799 ft) above sea level and comprise seven peaks, representing the seven heads of Adisesha. The temple lies on the seventh peak—Venkatadri, on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a holy water tank. Hence the temple is also referred to as "Temple of Seven Hills".[5] Tirumala town covers an area of about 10.33 sq mi (26.75 km2).
The temple of Venkateswara was built by Thondaman king and reformed periodically by Cholas, Pandyas and Vijayanagar. The temple is constructed in South Indian architecture and is believed to be constructed over a period of time starting from 300 CE.[6] The Garbhagruha (Sanctum Sanctorum) is called Ananda Nilayam. The presiding deity, Venkateswara, is in standing posture and faces east in Garbha Gruha. The temple follows Vaikhanasa Agama tradition of worship. The temple is one of the eight Vishnu Swayambhu (self-manifested) Kshetras and is listed as the 75th Divya Desam, one of the 108 temples mentioned in the Naalayira Divya Prabandham. The Temple premises have two modern Queue complex buildings to manage the pilgrim crowd, Tarigonda Vengamamba Annaprasadam complex for free meals to Pilgrims, hair tonsure buildings and a number of pilgrim lodging sites. The temple is one of the richest in the world in terms of donations received and wealth.[7][8][9]
There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the deity in Tirumala. According to one legend, the temple has a murti of Venkateswara, it is believed, which shall remain there for the entire duration of the present Kali Yuga.[10][11][12]
The total assets of the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Tirupati, are estimated to be over ₹2.5 lakh crore (US$30 billion).[13][14] This includes land parcels, buildings, cash and gold deposits in banks, given as offerings to the temple by devotees. As of 30 September 2022, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the governing body of the temple, had fixed deposits with several PSU and private banks amounting to over Rs 15,938 crore.[13][14] The gold deposits made by the Devasthanams in banks have also now increased rapidly from 7.3 tonnes in 2019 to 10.25 tonnes.[13][14] The temple is one of the world's most visited religious sites, attracts around 24 million devotees annually.[15] The average daily pilgrim footfall is above 60,000 devotees, and the number crosses one lakh devotees during the annual Brahmotsavams, Vaikunta Ekadasi, and other festival and holiday seasons.[15]
- ^ Rangarajan, A. D. (12 June 2020). "Yadavas hail restoration of 'Golla Mirasi". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ Alexandra Mack. Spiritual Journey, Imperial City: Pilgrimage to the Temples of Vijayanagara. Vedams eBooks (P) Ltd, 2002 - Hindu pilgrims and pilgrimages - 227 pages. p. 80.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
srivenkatesa.orgwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Tirumala Temple". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
- ^ Chandra, Subhash (19 May 2021). God vs Alien: (English Version). Subhash Chandra. p. 54.
- ^ "21 Unknown Facts about Tirupati Balaji Temple (Venkateswara Swamy)". 15 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ Sudhir, Uma (13 September 2007). "Tirupati ousts Vatican, reigns at top". NDTV. Archived from the original on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
- ^ Sivaratnam, C (1964). An Outline of the Cultural History and Principles of Hinduism (1 ed.). Colombo: Stangard Printers. OCLC 12240260.
Koneswaram temple. Tiru-Kona-malai is the sacred mountain of Kona or Koneser, Iswara or Siva. The date of building the original temple is given as 1580 BCE according to a Tamil poem by Kavi Raja Virothayan translated into English in 1831 by Simon Cassie Chitty ...
- ^ Ramachandran, Nirmala (2004). The Hindu legacy to Sri Lanka. Pannapitiya: Stamford Lake (Pvt.) Ltd. 2004. ISBN 9789558733974. OCLC 230674424.
Portuguese writer De Queyroz compares Konesvaram to the famous Hindu temples in Rameswaram, Kanchipuram, Tirupatti-Tirumalai, Jagannath and Vaijayanthi and concludes that while these latter temples were well visited by the Hindus, the former had surpassed all the latter temples by the early 1600s
- ^ Shilpa (5 December 2018). "Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh". Bharat Temples. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ "Tirupati – Tirumala – Venkateswara the lord of the Kali Yuga". Dakshināvarta. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Punjabi, Mona (21 April 2019). "Tirupati Balaji - History of Tirupati Balaji temple". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ a b c "With net net worth of over Rs 2.5 lakh cr, Tirupati temple is richer than Wipro, Nestle, ONGC". The Economic Times. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "Tirupati temple's assets worth over Rs 2.5 lakh crore". The Indian Express. PTI. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ a b Raghavan, Sandeep (31 January 2024). "Ram Mandir trust to study Tirupati temple's best practices in crowd management". The Times of India. Retrieved 31 January 2024.