Lord Venkateshwara Temple, Tirumala

Night View of the Temple

Day View of the Temple

About the temple:

Lord Venkateshwara temple is situated on the seventh hill Venkatachalam and popularly known as the lord of the seven hills (Vrushabadri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Simhadri, Neeladri, Venkatadri and Seshadri). The temple is the richest temple of India, considering the amount of donations and gifts offered by devotees. Several thousands of devotees come to the temple and one has to stand for several hours to get darshan of the lord here for very few seconds. Various tickets are available and it is better to book in advance to avoid delays in having darshan. Online booking is possible and thumb impression ticket booking centres are there in various cities. Devotees keep calling out the lord’s name, Govinda Govinda while moving the queue.

The temple is one among 108 divyadesams of Srivaishnavas. The day to day activities of the temple is controlled by the TTD , which is Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam.

Important Facts regarding the temple

The Vimanam, Ananda Vimanam of the temple is completely gold plated.

Goddess Laxmi resides on the Lord’s chest and there is a separate sannadhi for Lord Venkateshwara’s mother. An interesting story regarding this is that the Lord’s mother is overseeing the activities of the madapalli (kitchen).

How to reach:

The temple is located in chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is easily accessible by all modes of transport.

After reaching Tirupati, one can easily travel to Tirumala by road. Several devotees also climb the hill by foot. It takes about 4 hours to reach the temple premises by foot from Alipiri.

Nearest Rail head: Renigunta Junction (Tirupati is just 10 kms from here)
Nearest Airport : Tirupati at Renigunta

Pushkarni:

The Pushkarni is close to the main temple. There is a small temple of Varaha Murthi there and it is believed that one should visit this temple first before visiting Lord Venkateshwara’s temple.

Prasadam:

The devotees are given free prasadam after darshan and free meals tickets are also distributed. The temple is very famous for its Ladoo prasadam.

Where to Stay:

There is choice between free accommodation and paid accommodation for devotees in the holy hills. There are lots of ashrams and guest houses.


Important Festival and Busy Season

Surya prabha seva

Garuda vahana seva

Hanumantha vahana

Simha vahanam seva

Mohini avataram

Hamsa vahana seva

Chinna sesha vahana seva

Sarva bhupala vahana seva

Pedda sesha vahana seva

Kalpa vruksha vahana seva

Dhwajarohana mahotsava

Snapana tirumanjana seva

The main festival of the temple is Brahmatsovam that is held during September. The tirumala hills are jam packed during this festival and during the months of April- June. Devotees visit the temples especially during the auspicious days of Vaikunta Ekadashi and New Year.

What to see :

Apart from Lord Venkateshwara temple in Tirumala hills, there are few more interesting places worth visiting.

Akashaganga :

This place is 3 kms from the temple.

Paapavinasham :

This place is just 5 kms up from the temple.

Venugopala Swami Temple : A temple devoted to Lord Krishna is there up on the hills.

All these three places are easily accessible by road. Either you could hire a private vehicle or go by Govt buses that run frequently on this route.

When you come down to Tirupati you can visit

Govindarajar Temple :

This is a very big temple right in the center of Tirupati town, close to the railway station. Lord Vishnu is the presiding deity with his consorts. The temple remains crowded most of the times. The street to the temple has lot of shops on both sides.

Kondandarama Temple :

This temple of Lord Rama and his consorts is about 15 minutes walk from Govindarajar temple and is a very old temple worth visiting. This is not so famous as Govindarajar temple, yet very calm and beautiful.

ISKCON Temple :

This is a recently built Krishna temple by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. A very beautiful, clean and well maintained temple of Krishna, Radha and gopikas. It is close to the point from where people start walking to reach the tirumala hills.

Alamelu mangapuram :

The temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara’s consort, Padmavathi thayar (Alar mel mangai). Lot of buses and autos are available to reach the temple that is not very far from the city.

For more information visit http://www.tirumala.org/

For e-services (online booking for darshan and stay) visit http://www.ttdsevaonline.com/

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