The Holy City of Tirupati

One of the most visited holy places in India, besidesmoney, distributes Laddu Prassadam (sweet balls
being a wonderful destination for the Hindus throughoutmade with flour grams and ghee) amongst the
the world, Tirupati is an ancient place. It finds mention indevotees. Apart for offering money gold and jewellery
the Sangam literature in which it is mentioned asto Balaji, several devotees also offer their hair to the
Thiruvengadam. The Puranas also mention Tirupati.Lord at the Sri Venkateswara Temple. A separate
The city of Tirupati has seven hills that look like aarrangement for the same takes care of this.
snake from the top with the last of the seven hillsEarlier, for a darshan of the Lord, the devotees and
looking like the hood of a snake in which the Templethe pilgrims had to stand tirelessly and patiently for
of Tirumala--also called Tirupati Balaji Temple and Srimany hours in long serpentine lines. Now--thanks to the
Venkateswara Temple-- is located for which Tirupati iscomputerized tokens that are issued to them at the
well-known throughout the world.Venkateswara and Padmavati Tirupati Bus Stands at
The Temple of Tirumala is the richest temple in theTirupati--they take rest and visit other nearby places till
world and is in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh,their number for the darshan at Sri Venkateswara
India. It attracts millions of pilgrims and devotees fromTemple comes. The darshan starts quite early, right
all over the world who come here for a darshan offrom 3 AM in the morning and continues till 12 P.M. in
the Lord, Srinivas, also called Balaji (an incarnation ofthe night.
Lord Vishnu).Near the Balaji Temple is a sacred tank--called the
Sri Venkateswara Temple is located on the foothills ofSwamy Pushparani Tank. A bath in this tank is
the Tirumala Hills--also called the Seven Hills (theconsidered very auspicious. So, the pilgrims and
Abode of the Lord Venkateswara). Maybe, that's whydevotees take a bath and clean themselves here
the Lord at Tirupati is also called Edu Kondala Vadabefore they proceed further for the darshan of the
(Lord of the Seven Hills).Lord. A statue of the Lord Varaha Murthy--the original
The thickly wooded Seven Hills located in idyllicdeity of the place--exists near the tank.
surroundings look picturesque and beautiful. A journeyApart from the chief attraction of Tirupati, the Tirumala
from the base to the top of the hill for the darshan ofTemple, there are some other equally if not more
the Lord Balaji turns out to be the experience of afamous temples at Tirupati that include the Padmavati
lifetime for the visitors.Temple, the Govindraja Swamy Temple, the Kodanda
Balaji at Tirupati is also called Vaddikasulaswamy (LordRama Swamy Temple, and the ISKCON Lord Krishna
of Interest). Legend has it that the Lord needed muchTemple, among others.
money for his royal marriage. He asked for the sameHow to reach
from Kuber--the God of Wealth--who gave theThe holy city of Tirupati is well connected by rail, road
money but on the condition that Balaji would return itand air. The Renigunta International Airport at Tirupati
back with interest.connects the sacred place to the many international
Since then, Balaji is believed to be collecting money atdestinations.
the Tirupati Balaji Temple from his devotees who offerWhen to visit
money, besides gold and jewellery, to the Lord so thatThe best time to visit Tirupati is during the month of
he could pay it back to Kuber whose interest keepsSeptember. During this time, a nine-day festival--known
on increasing with the passage of time. No wonder,as Brahmotsavam--is held at the place that attracts
Tirupati has arguably become the richest pilgrimagethe visitors from all over the world who throng the
city in the world.place in large numbers to be a part of one of the
The trust that manages the management andbiggest religious carnivals of the world that the
maintenance of Sri Venkateswara Temple and theBrahmotsavam is.
surrounding areas at Tirupati, using the collected