Tirupati Temples Visit

After a very long time, we the family of four, decided to visit a tourist spot on account of a special occasion. For those of you who are not aware of the occasion, I will let you know the same a little later. Considering the occasion, an overseas trip also figured in the discussion.  However, as four of us could not get the required leave, plans were kept in abeyance.  Karthik went ahead and booked a trip to Tirupati for 3 days.  Prior to a week of departure, he informed us of the trip.  I then took the responsibility of booking accommodation.  We tried Devasthanam rooms, but nothing was available as it was a last minute.  I remembered someone had told me about Hotel Bhimas.  Found the phone number through Google and made a call.  The person on the other side informed me that the booking is made.  I insisted he sending me a message.  He said not to worry.  I was cursing his callous attitude.

16^th Jan 2016: As some of you know, I am either a ‘cool’ person or a ‘tensed’ person, depending on the situation.  In the morning, it was time for us to catch the train.  Kaushik was trying to book the Ola cab and we were’nt getting one, hence tension started to build within.  My mind started to work on alternative options to catch the train.  Before I could spell out these, Kaushik confirmed that the booking is done and the cab will come to pick us up in 5 minutes.  Thanks to the coupon codes these youngsters have, it was a free ride for us to Cant Station.  I bet, it is human to feel happy on these small freebies.  As usual, we were at the station one hour before – a laughing matter for many of you, I guess.  The train left around 8 am.

We had carried our breakfast whilst the kids wanted to have something in the train.  Unfortunately, nothing came in the train perhaps due to lack of a pantry in the Bangalore-Tirupati Express. We reached Tirupati at 1.15 pm.  After climbing the staircase dragging the luggage to move from Platform 3 to the main entrance, we found that there were elevators.  Kudos, India is improving.  Having come out of the station, we found that Hotel Bhimas was bang opposite the station.  However, this seemed to have been constructed in the 17^th or 18^th century or perhaps when Tirumala was constructed.  The only difference is Tirumala is well maintained whilst this was not.  The outer appearance itself made me distance away from the hotel.  Now I understand the callous attitude of that booking person.  He would have thought to himself – “In my career I have seen so many people who call to make the booking but never turn up”.  Apparently, there are many hotels with the word Bhimas.  For eg: Bhimas Deluxe, Bhimas Residency, Bhimas Grand, etc.

Karthik and myself then headed towards a couple of hotels nearby to enquire the rates.  We wanted to have a non-AC room as I was not keeping well and my wife is also not used to AC.  We found a decent one in the vicinity – Vaishnavi Inn.  We had lunch in a restaurant called Saravana Bhavan – what a strong brand name it has amongst Tamilians!  We came to the room and took some rest.  Sumathi then made a call to her Velu Chittapa.  In the evening we visited Sri Govindaraja Swamy Temple.  

I reproduce herewith some of the excerpts from various sites on the history of these temples.

Quote: “Sri Govindaraja Swamy is the elder brother of Swamy Venkateswara, who accomplished the ever-magnificent marriage between Venkateswara Swamy and Padmavathi Ammavaru. The Govindaraja Swamy was the caretaker of massive wealth being obtained from king Kubera for conducting the marriage. He efficiently utilized this wealth to conduct one of the most glorious marriages in the history. Hence Govindaraja Swamy is considered to be the god who helps you elevate your wealth and efficiently manage the wealth acquired.  Sri Govindaraja Swamy is bestowed with the ability to remove obstacles for the accumulation of wealth. Here the Lord occupies a resting position, after counting the volume of money he has received from Sri Kubera.  This temple is a remarkable achievement of the ancient south Indian architecture. It's tall and remarkable seven storeys outer Gopuram was dated to be constructed around 14-15th century” - Unquote

We then visited Karumari Amman temple, where Sumathi’s Chittapa does the Pooja.  Thereafter, we took an auto and went to Sri Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple.  Excerpts – Quote: “This Rama temple in Tirupati was built by the Chola kings in 10th century A.D. This great temple has a history of more than one thousand years.  There is a legend which tells the temple importance.  Jambhavanta was a follower of Lord Sri Rama. Once he saw a cave here. A bright light was coming out from the cave. Jambavanta asked the reason for that light source. Lord Rama said that is the light of god. Jambavanta established the god’s idol there and worshiped him. According to that legend, Lord Rama in this temple is belonged to Treta yuga – Unquote.  It was close to 9 pm and we decided to retire for the day.

17^th Jan 2016:  After having Pongal as breakfast brought by Velu Chittapa to our room, we hired an auto to visit more temples.  Rajini (not Rajnikant), Velu Chittapa’s son, also accompanied us.  We first visited Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Srinivasa Mangapuram.  Excerpts – Quote: After celebrating the marriage of Lord Venkateswara Swamy with Goddess Padmavathi, he did not immediately return to the Tirumala hills. But instead he visited the sage Agasthya's ashram to seek blessings. Yes, even the lord is humble enough to seek blessings from elderly and wise. As it was scientifically wrong for the newlyweds to scale the hill for six months, the lord was unable to immediately return to the Tirumala mountain-temple. At this situation the sage Agastya suggested that Swamy Venkateswara along with his wife could stay at his humble ashram. The Lord graciously accepted this request and blessed with the ashram with his presence for the entire six months.  Later, before returning to the Tirumala, Swamy Venkateswara blessed the place with two boons-  

1.       The newlyweds and elderly who are not able to visit Tirumala can get the same benefits through visiting Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Temple.  

2.       A devotee who takes part in the Kalyna utsasvam and ties a ‘kaappu’ on their hand, can find their best, most beloved life-partner or find new happiness from their existing relationship.

Being present at this blissful location during the Kalyana Utsav time, can alleviate any hindrance that stops a devotee from finding a great life partner. The act of participating "Kalyana Utsavam” is also proven to remove any existing problems in a married life” – Unquote.

Our next stop was at Iskcon Temple.  Having seen Bangalore Iskcon, I was not having great much expectations from this temple.  However, when I went inside, I was awestruck.  The cleanliness, the serenity, the ambience, and the idols are worth a visit.  Here one can see Sri Radha Govinda and his Ashta Sakhi.  Every idol’s carving in marble is magnificent.  The ceiling with several paintings was a feast to the eyes.  The free Prasadam was very tasty.  I saw some people taking it twice – now don’t stare at me.

Thereafter, we visited Sri Kapileswara Swamy Temple.  Sumathi’s cousins are doing Pooja here.  Hence, it was easy for us to gain entry without having to pass through any queue.  We had a close Darshan of the Goddess followed by a special aarti.  Excerpts – Quote: Sri Kapileswara Temple is a famous Shiva temple situated at the foothills of Sri Tirumala hills and is a direct observation about combining the powers of Shiva and Vishnu.  During a Kapileswara swami Darshan, you are welcomed by a big statue of seated Nandi, who is the favorite mode of travel for Lord Shiva.  The location of the temple is truly enriching – Accompanied by the seven hills of Tirupati, Kapila Teertham waterfalls and a sacred lake directly ahead.  This temple forms a complete experience, fulfilling the needs of your heart, mind and body.  According to the history, this temple derives its name from Maharshi Kapila, who immersed himself in ardent Shiva Pooja to satisfy the Lord. With the unswerving devotion of Kapila Muni, the Lord Shiva and Parvati presented themselves at this location and blessed him. During this time the Kapila Lingam pierced through the ground,  presenting itself, when the seven worlds were instantly devotionally involved with this Linga.

The Sri Kapileswara Shiva Linga is considered to be self-manifested or Svayambhu form of Lord Shiva. According to ancient texts the large lake, occupying the front portion of the temple also came into existence along with the Shiva Linga. On the auspicious occasion of full moon day of the Karthika month, all the teerthas( holy water) on the three worlds of heaven, earth and underworld converge on the Kapila Teertham.  If you take a dip in the holy water during this period, you will be released from the worldly bonds of sin to attain Moksha at the mercy of Lord Shiva” – Unquote.

Our next stop for the day was Sri Tiruchanoor Temple – Alamelu Mangapuram.  There was heavy crowd and we bought Rs 100 per head ticket.  We had a very good darshan of Alamelu Amman.  People say that it is a must to visit this temple before/after visiting Tirumala.  Excerpts: Quote – “Legend - Once the entitled Maharshi Bhrigu visited Vaikunth to see Lord Vishnu. Lord Mahavishnu was sound asleep. The Maharshi took this as a direct insult and avenged this self-assumed offense with a kick to the chest of Lord Vishnu. The awakened Lord Mahavishu graciously accepted his fault, and afterwards paid proper homage to Maharishi. Goddess Lakshmi who was a silent spectator to the entire affair was unable to carry the burden of witnessing the abuse of the Lord Vishnu at the hands of Maharshi Bhrigu. Goddess Lakshmi alighted from Vaikunth seeking penance in a humble location at Earth near Swarnamukhi river.  

After 12 years of hard tapas, she emerged from the Golden Lotus on the 13th year on Panchami day during the last fortnight of Karteeka month. At this time the bright Uttarashadha Nakshatra was shining towards the earth. Here the Goddess Lakshmi was reincarnated as a Divine Child, capturing the King Akashraja who took here as a daughter and naming her after the Lotus as Sri Padmavathi.   At this time, Lord Maha Vishnu also alighted downwards the Earth, seeking Goddess Maha Lakshmi. As Mahavishnu’s Lord Vekateswara Avatar, he was able to find and marry Sri Padmavathi” – Unquote.

Having visited the above 4 temples, it was around 1.30 pm and time for lunch.  We headed to Velu Chittapa’s house and had a sumptuous lunch.  Thanks to Chitti for giving us a festival lunch a day in advance to commensurate the occasion.  Velu Chittapa also helped us in booking an AC room in Vishnu Nivasam Guest House.  Hence, we vacated Vaishnavi Inn and checked into Vishnu Nivasam. 

In the evening, we boarded a bus to Srikalahasti. I must talk of the horrible experience of boarding the bus.  The bus came to Tirupati Central bus stand, the last destination point and people were getting off the bus.  As people were alighting, those who wanted to board the bus started reserving the seats by throwing towels, small bags, muflers, dupattas and what not.  Pushing through the crowd, I managed to get into the bus only to find all seats were reserved with these sort of things.  Sumathi and Chittapa managed to find 2 seats.  The unruly behaviour of the crowd made me lose my temper and I could vent it out only on my poor wife.  I told her to get off the bus and we return back to the hotel.  Kaushik started pacifying me and Chittapa managed to find two more seats.  Finally, all of us got seats and I dozed off for about 45 minutes. Before I take the blame on myself for losing my temper, I should also blame my ill-health.  The weather was quite chill in the morning and I ventured out without the jacket that I brought from Bangalore.  This aggravated the cold and feverish feeling that I was already carrying with me when I left Bangalore.

There was a big queue and we had to climb up and down several stairs.  I still wonder why these kind of bridges are constructed for darshans.  Can we not have straight line/curved paths considering the fact that many old-aged people visit these temples.  Finally, we had a glimpse of the Lord before we were shooed away.  We then went to have Darshan of Goddess Parvathi Devi.  Luckily, the priest identified the Chittapa and took us inside to have a very close darshan of the Goddess.  He also did a special aarti for us.  We felt blessed.

Excerpts: Quote – “Srikalahasti is one of the Pancha Bootha Sthalam and represents the Vayu Sthalam.  This temple was constructed by the Chola King, Rajendra Chola . Vayu is incarnated as Lord Shiva and worshipped as Kalahasteeswara.  Goddess Parvathi Devi is worshiped here as Gnanaprasunambika. Srikalahasti temple is also associated with Rahu and Ketu, (of the nine grahams or celestial bodies in the Indian astrological scheme). Sri Kalahasti Temple is also famous for performing poojas for Sarpa, Rahu, Ketu Doshas.The temple is considered as the Kailash of the south or Dakshin Kailash.  The Lingam here is swayambu, and it is white in color. The Main lingam is untouched by the human beings, even by the priest. Abhishekam is done by pouring a mixture of water , milk, camphor and panchamrita. Sandal paste, flowers, and the sacred thread are offered to the Uthsava murthi, not the main Lingam” – Unquote.

We left Srikalahasti around 8.15 pm and reached Tirupati around 9.30 pm.  We finished our dinner at Vishnu Nivasam and went to bed around 11 pm.  A tiring day, indeed.

18^th Jan 2016: We left the room around 6.45 am.  All the male members wore a dhoti.  Bought a return ticket to Tirumala at Vishnu Nivasam itself. Boarded a bus to Tirumala.  After about 10 minutes drive, all the passengers were asked to vacate the bus. I showed the ticket and asked them what was wrong in half-tamil, half-telugu.  Then I came to know that it is compulsory for the passengers and their baggage to be checked/scanned.  Thereafter, all of us again boarded the bus.  It was about 45 minutes drive.  Reached Tirumala before 8 am.  From there, it was a long walk.  Reached the Rs 300/- check-point at 8.25 am.  Even though our time slot was 9 am, we were allowed inside.  We were very lucky as the queue was moving and not stranded.  Very soon, we were near the main entrance of the Temple.  Here, we had to wait for about 5 minutes as they were letting out the pilgrims.  I still wonder why there is only one entrance for this Temple.  When people are entering, the pilgrims inside the temple awaiting exit are made to wait.  I believe this is one of the reason for the huge waiting time generally associated with Darshan.  There must be a strong reason for the single entry/exit phenomenon.  If someone can enlighten me, it would be much appreciated.  With limited crowd and no pushing/pulling, we had a good Darshan of the Lord as we were walking towards Him.  The accidental discovery we made was to enter the first lane to the right inside the temple.  This lead us to be in the first row of having Darshan.  To clarify, there are several rows of people having Darshan.  We were out by 9.10 am.  In fact, it took quite some time to collect the Laddu Prasadam.   I am not giving any excerpts for Tirumala as everyone would be familiar.  It was again a long walk back to the Tirumala bus stop to catch a bus to Tirupati.  We reached Tirupati around 11.30 am.  Immediately, we booked our return tickets to Bangalore through KSRTC departing at 1.35 pm.  We then rushed to our room, had lunch, vacated the room and reached the Central Bus stand around 1.20 pm.  The bus was quite comfortable. We reached Bangalore KR Puram at 7 pm.  Thereafter to travel a distance of 2 km to reach Tin Factory, it took half an hour. Incredible Bangalore!  We got off at Tin Factory, booked Ola Cab and had to wait for another 20 minutes for the cab driver to take a ‘U’ turn and pick us up.  Finally, we reached home around 8.30 pm.  Now for the occasion, it was our 25^th wedding anniversary.  It was a different experience as we visited Tirupati after a gap of around 20 years.  Would you want to call ‘shame on us’?  Believe me, unless the Lord wishes to give His Darshan, it will not happen.