Tirumala

Tirumala (Telugu: తిరుమల, Tamil:திருமலை) is a hill town in Chittoor district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Tirumala is a Firstmost devine piligrim center of Hindu/Vedha Religion, popularly known as Sri Venkateswara Temple - which is dedicated for the Supeme God Shri mann Narayana/Maha Vishnu. As like Rama Avathara/Krishna Avathara are known as Vibhava avathara of the God, the Sri Rengam/Tirumala/Badrinath are the existing places of Archavatharas of the Supreme God.

The Tirumala Hill is 3,200 feet (980 m) above sea level, and is about 10.33 square miles (26.8 km2) in area. It comprises seven peaks representing the seven hoods of Adisesha, thus earning the name Seshachalam. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri. The sacred temple of Sri Venkateswara  is located on the seventh peak, Venkatadri (Venkata Hill), and lies on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini.

History of the temple

Ancient Tamil king Thondaiman, ruler of the ancient Thondaimandalam (present day Kanchipuram), is believed to have first built the temple after visualizing Lord Vishnu in his dream. He built the Gopuram and the Prakhara, and arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in the temple. Later on, the Chola dynasty vastly improved the temple and gave rich endowments.

Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha, a Dashavatara of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. There is also the Ranga Mandapam, which is to the left side of the temple as one enters. This is where the main deity, Sri Ranganatha Swamy of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple (Trichy), was protected for a period of almost 60 years during attacks by Malik Kafur in the 14th century.

In his mangala sloka in 'Sri Bhashya', the Lokaguru Shrimath Ramanuja declares in no uncertain terms the resplendent glory of Lord Venkateswara:

akhila bhuvana janma sthema bhangAdi lIle

vinata vividha bhuta vrAta rakshaika dikshe |

Sruti Sirasi vidIpte brahmaNi SrInivAse

bhavatu mama parasmin Semushi bhakti rUpA ||

May my intellect assume the form of Bhakti in Srinivasa, the highest Reality, revealed in the Vedanta as the Lord who creates, protects and destroys the whole universe with sportive ease and who has taken a vow to protects all creatures who seek him.

Kamban, in his celebrated Ramayana makes an explicit reference to the Thiru Vengadam Hills and states that the truth enshrined in the four Vedas stands out as the eternal satya on the Vengada Hills. 'Silappadikaram', the great Tamil Classic calls the Holy Hills, 'Nediyon Kunrams'. It was, however, the Alvars who brought forth the transcedental majesty of Lord Venkateswara through their poems of praise which are surcharged with undiluted devotion to the Lord.

Importance in Mythology

The venkatam hill is believed to be a part of the celestial mount meru brought to the earth from vaikuntam by garuda (Lord's vehicle), say the puranas.The Hills are said to be a manifestation of Adi Sesha (the cosmic serpent). The Seven hills of the Tirumala are the said to represent the Seven hoods of Adi Sesha.

Many Alvars, Vaishnavacharyas and Saints have praised the Tirumala Hill with great devotion. Tirumala Mambi, a descendent of the great ascetic Narada, spent his whole life in serving the Lord.

References to the tirumala also found in several of Puranas. Tirumala is one of the 108 sacred shrines of the Sri Vaishanava tradition.According to the Puranas, Lord Vishnu stayed on the earth for some time in the Avatar of Swetha Varaham and rose out of pushkarini as Swayambhuva. His spouse Lakshmi Devi appeared in Thirucharnur. This Swwtha Varaha Avatharam was installed in the temple situated to the west of Swamy Pushkarni. The great religious leader Ramanujacharya visited this shrine on a pilgrimage and systematised the process of worship in accordance with the SriVaishnava that continues to date.

ALWARS

Nammalvar (3000 B.C)extols Lord Venkateswara as the veritable aushadam (medicine) for curing the disease of samsara in the areas of birth and death.

Saint Kulasekhara Alvar prays to the Lord Srinivasa to grant him even the lowest birth in the holy Tirumala Hills—as a fish in the sacred Swami Pushkarini, or as a tree, or as anything on the golden hills of Lord Venkateswara (emberumaan ponmalai mEl EdhEnum avEnE).

Thirumalai Ananthalvan : Selfless Service to the Lord

Millions of devotees throng the Tirumala Hills practically round the clock throughout the year. As the rush of pilgrims increases day by day, Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams is hard put to finding ways and means of accommodating them and arranging darshan without long wait. As they move towards the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Venkateswara, how many will remember that there was a time , just a thousand years back, when the Hills were deserted with not much of human habitation in sight ? Ask any Srivaishnavite to name the man of the millennium. Pat will come the reply, Saint Ramanuja.

Ramanuja ( 1017-1137 A.D.) had visited the Hills thrice. His maternal uncle , Peria Thirumalai Nambi gave him discourses on the Ramayana for several months at the Hills. The temple and the surroundings were in bad shape and worship was not organized regularly. Ramanuja was inspired by the Holy Hymns of the Alwars singing the glory of the Lord of the Seven Hills. He called an assembly of the Acharyas , 74 in number and posed them the question whether any one of them will take up the task of serving the Lord on the Hills on a day to day basis. Everyone was hesitating , fearing the hard life up the Hills what with tigers , malaria and the forests. There was Ananthalvan , a strong and silent devotee in the gathering. He rose to his feet and prayed , " Beloved Acharya ! Bestow the blessing of serving the Lord of the Seven Hills on this humble self. With your grace , I will be happy to undertake this service." Ramanuja was mightily pleased and embracing Ananthalvan, declared before the congregation , " Ananthalvan , You are truly the man ( Aanpillai)."

Ananthalvan was born as the son of Sri Kesavacharya of Bharadwaja Gothra in the year “Vijaya”, the 975th of the Sakha Era, 4154 years after Kali Yuga commenced, in the month of Chaitra on the day of Chithra Star at Sirupudur in Mysore and was named Anantharya.

He was taught the Vedas, Vedangas and Dhivyaprabandhams of Azhvars at the right age. On hearing about Sri Ramanuja he went to Srirangam. His samasrayanam was done by Sri Arulalaperumal Emperumanar who proclaimed that for them and for him the Acharya was always Ramanujar. Just as the Lord was born as Nara and Narayana, Adiseshan too was born as Ramanujar and Ananthazhvar as Acharya and Shishya.

Ananthalvan choose to settle down on the Hills in fulfilment of the command of the Guru and went on to lay the garden of flowers, dug up the lake and named it after Ramanuja. As a part of maintenance of a garden in the service of the Lord, Ananthazhwar was digging up earth, assisted by his pregnant wife. She got tired.The compassionate Lord could not contain himself. He assumed the form of a lad and assisted her in her service.Ananthalvar got angry and hit with a crowbar a young man who was trying to help his wife in laying the garden. Ananthalvan was chasing him when the young man disappeared into the temple. The priests found blood oozing from the chin of the Lord as Ananthalvan entered the sanctum sanctorum. He applied camphor on the chin and prayed for forgiveness. The crowbar can even today be seen at the entrance to the temple as a memento to the dedicated devotion of Ananthalvan. The camphor is distributed as prasad.

One time Lord consider Anandhalvar as his guru and Ramanujar as Loka Guru and give a slokam

During the second visit up the Hills , Saint Ramanuja went round the garden laid down by Ananthasuri and was delighted to find the garden thick with vakula, patala, punnaga, shenbaga and other flower bearing fragrant trees, the bunches of flowers hanging from the branches, entertaining the ears of pilgrims with strains of music poured forth by bees and all kinds of plumaged birds. Saint Ramanuja remembered, how on the first occasion, he had given the call to Ananthasuri at the time of discourse on Nammalwar's hymns referring to the Lord as residing in flower bedecked Venkata Hills ( Sindhupoo maghizhum Thiruvengadam). He called Anantharya and declared in the august presence of Peria Thirumalai Nambigal , " O Anantharya ! Having nursed Thee , I now reap the fruit."

Anantha Suri was some sort of a chronicler. His Venkatchala Ithihasamala represents to Tirupati what Koil Olugu is to Srirangam. The Holy triumvirate of Saint Ramanuja , Ananthalvan and Peria Thirumalai Nambigal at a conference at the third visit of Ramanuja set up the Pedda Jeeyangar Mutt to regulate the vaikansa agama form of worship. The Saint began his SriBashya with an invocation to the Lord as Brahmani Srinivasa. This was a free Sanskrit rendering of Nammalwar's famous hymn addressing the Lord as "Alarmelmangai Urai Marba."

Epigraphs TT 171 , 173 and 175 on the Tirumalai Hills show Ananthalvan's dedication to Saint Ramanuja. His word was gospel to him. Whatever was dear to Ramanuja was dearer to Ananthalvan. He prays to Ramanuja to bless him with the noble spirit to imbibe the teachings of Nammalwar. His devotion to Andal was so great that on one occasion he was seen diving deep down the Srivilliputtur temple tank to search for the remnants of holy turmeric if any used by Andal. He composed the Ramanuja Chautsloki showing how Srirangam, The Tirumalai Hills , Kanchi and Melkote were dear to Ramanuja. His Gotha Chatusloki is a work of great art, rich in lines whose depth of thought , warmth of feeling , glow of imagery and grace of phrases will ring for centuries in every land where the glory of Andal is cherished.

Bhattar , the successor to Saint Ramanuja at Srirangam, once sent a disciple to Ananthalvan to ascertain who a true Vaishnava was. Ananthalvan told the Brahmin from Srirangam , " A true Sri Vaishnavite is like a crane , like a cock , like salt. He will be like You." Bhattar later on explained the four different ideas of Ananthalvan. The Srivaishnava ignores ordinary mortals and awaits the arrival of a true Gnani so that he may surrender to that Mahatma through devotion to service. Not for him the different parts of the Vedas which are not always of universal appeal. Like the cock picking up the good grains from the chaff , the Vaishnava will swear by the Dravida Veda of Nammalwar. Just as the salt dissolves itself in food and becomes useful thereby , the Srivaishnava effaces himself in Bhagavath, Bhaagavatha and Acharya Kainkarya. Like the Brahmin from Srirangam , he is free of ego or arrogance , always humble and devoted to the Srivaishnava clan.

Ananthalvan's final sacred gift to the pilgrims visiting the Hills was the shrine for Ramanuja. The image was presented to Ananthalvan by Saint Ramanuja Himself on request and was consecrated after the Saint shuffled off his mortal coil. Consecration may be later in time but the image itself is more ancient than those in Sriperumbudur , Srirangam and Thirunarayanapuram.

Ananthalvan rebukes Nanjeeyar for taking to Sanyas. For him liberation is attained by service to the community. Indeed Ananthalvan advises his disciple Vaishnava Dasa to spend his wealth for the upliftment of the poor and the down trodden if he is to aspire for the grace of Lord Venkateswara.

Ananthalvan joined eternity with the Lord on the sacred Thiru Adi Pooram day. Even today , Lord Venkateswara visits the garden and bestows honours on the Magizha Tree.

The satari at the main sanctum sanctorum is known as Sadagopa in remembrance of Nammalwar. The one in the Ramanuja shrine is known as Ananthalvan.

The Vaishnava community always held religious beliefs as filling too vital a function in sustaining individual morality and morale and social order and control. Ananthalvan belonged to a different clime and a different age , but it was not blind faith but faith married to reason.