Tirumala -Lord Sri Srinivasa: All you want to know:

from
RANGARAJ RAMASWAMY rangaraj_ramaswamy@yahoo.co.in
Thu, Sep 22, 2011
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                                  Tirumala -Lord  Sri Srinivasa

About the temple:
 After traveling throughthe hills, we will come towards the temple  of Lord Srinivasa . The entrance of the temple is an unexplainableissue. We can see a large mountain as a chain  and in front of it, the white Tower known asGopuram is seen.

Moolavar
The Moolavar of thisdivyadesam is said to be Swayambhu (originated on its own but not sculpted byhumans). The Moolavar, Sri Venkatachalapathy is in standing posture (Nindrathirukkolam) on the petals of the Lotus. One can see and admire the beauty theDiamond Crown known as Kreetam on the head of the Lord Sri Venkateswaraperumal. On taking a closer look, we can see the smiling face of the perumal.His chin is covered with the smelly benzoine known as Pachchai Karpooram andfor the Lord is with 4 hands The upper two arms holds the Conch (Sangu) and theDivine Wheel known as Chakkaram. The lower right hand is in Varadha hasta posewhich is said to the pose where the perumal holds his hand with his palm facingthe bhaktas and all of the fingers are pointed towards downwards (towards hisdivine feet). And his lower left hand is said to be in "KatyaValambitha" pose where the fingers of the hand rest on the left thigh ofthe perumal.

 Sri Lakshmi piratti ison the right side of the Moolavar's chest in sitting position. And on his leftchest Sri Padmavathi thaayar is adorning. The perumal is with lots of preciousornaments on his arms, he is worn with a kind of ornament which is like theAadhiseshan on his both the hands. He is also worn the Garland of Salagramamand His divine thiruvadi (Feet) is found on the Lotus flower.

Bhoga Srinivasa Murthi

Next to Moolavar isBhoga Srinivasa Murthi is, who is similar as the Moolavar but the difference isthe Sangu and the Chakkaram cant be removed (its fixed) and gives his seva as"Sangu Chakkra thaari". It is said that he is the Lord Balaji whoaccepts all the dedications made His devotees and gives the varam.

Ugrah Srinivasar

In front of Moolavar isUgraha Srinivasar is a Statue and is named as "Venkata Thuraivar" andthe Vigraham represents that he is in the angry mood. Due to a fire accident,He is used only on 3 occasions (i.e.) during Uttanna Ekadasi, Mukkoti Dwadasiand Dwadasa Aradhana. It is said that the rays of the sun should not fall theidol as it might bring harm to the world. For this reason the Idol is broughtback to the Sanctum Sanatorium known as Garbagriham.

The Utsavar is calledas "Malai Kuniya Nindran Perumal". He is in standing posture known asNindra kolam and is worn with lots of precious ornaments like diamonds andgold. Along his sides are Sridevi and Bhoodevi.

 On special days and ofUtsavams like Kalyana Utsavam, Brahmotsavam, Teppa Utsavam, the Utsavar isdecorated with a diamond ornament named as "Vajrangi" and a pearlornament
known as"Muthangi" next to ugra Narasimhar is Kolur Srinivasar is found. Heis also named as "Dharbar Srinivasar". He is brought up to theThirumaamani mandapam and the perumal's Kaanikkai are spread in front of Himand are counted and finally the collection amount is announced in His presence.

 Sri Navaneedha Krishnan

Next to him is SriNavaneedha Krishnan. He is in dancing position along with Rukmani Devi. Duringmonth of 15th December and 14th January in every year, which is known as Dhanurmonth Sanskrit and in Tamil Maargazhi, elaborative function known as Utsavam isdone for this Lord Navaneetha Krishna..

 Sri Rama

Next is 4 idols of SriRama, Sita Devi, Lakshmana and sugreeva are found. Next to them isChakarattalwar (Sudarsana chakkaram) who is taken out for procession before theutsavar taken out for Veedhi Purappaadu (Perumal is taken out through thestreets). On Ratha Saptami, Chakkrattalwar is taken to Swami Pushkarani andspiritual bath is given to him.

 Mangalasasanam

Next to Sri Rangamdivyadesam, only in this sthalam, Alwars have done more numbers ofMangalasasanam here.
 Perialwar - 7Paasurams.
Andal - 16 Paasurams.
Thruppaan alwar - 2 Paasurams.
Kulasekaralwar - 11 Paasurams.
Thirumazhisaialwar - 14 Paasurams.
Poigaialwar - 10 paasurams.
Boothathalwar - 9 Paasurams.
Peialwar - 19 Paasurams.
Nammalwar - 52 Paasurams.
Thirumangaialwar - 62 Paasurams.

Total - 202 Paasurams.

 Manavala Maamunigal hasstayed in this sthalam for a long time and have praised and sung mangalasasanamon this perumal.

 Vimaanam:

One can see the beautifuland white temple Tower -  Vimaanam,
which is known as"Aananda Nilaya Vimaanam". This Tirupathi temple is about 400 feet inlength and 250 feet width. There are two Towers known as gopurams to thisperumal. One is the outer Tower - Gopuram and another is InnerTower - Gopuram. For two Gopurams, there are two Pragharams. The worship done inbetween the two pragharams is referred to as "SampangiPradhakshanam". The worship in between inner pragharam and Garbhagriham isreferred to as "Vimana Pradhakshanam".

Entering into theTemple :

The outer entrance ofthe temple is called as "Mugha Dwaram"
(entrance) and it isabout 11 feet in width. Entering through this, we can see the Ranganayaki KuLamandapam, which is on the left hand side. Next to it is the Pradhama mandapamknown Main entrance.

On the North side ofthe Pradhama mandapam, lays a statue of King Krishnadevaraya, who is said to bea great Shiva bhaktan. He came to this Tirumala divyadesam in 16th century forabout 7 times.

On the left side ofPradhama Mandapam, a big hall where Marriage Ceremony known as Kalyana utsavamfor the Perumal is done in a very grand manner. A small sannadhi for SriRanganatha is found and it is said that during the invasion of the Mughals on Sri Rangam, thisVigraham (Idol) was taken from Sri Rangam and kept here in this sannadhi andproper poojas done for the perumal.

 Next to this, is theThirumalai Raja Mandapam. In this mandapam, there are three statues of LalaKhamanan, the Thodarmalla, with his mother and his wife.

As we have seen thattwo types of Pradhakshanams are said to be done in this temple, one can see theSri Varadharajar sannadhi as we cross the inner Gopuram. Next to Varadharajarsannadhi is the Madapalli. (Kitchen of the temple) is found. There are calledas "Poturooms" and the Neivedhya prasadhams are prepared inside theserooms. The incharge of the kitchen is none other than Sri Vakula maligai themother of the perumal. An idol is also found in the entrance of the Kitchen andbecause of this, she is called as "Madapalli Naachiyaar".

To the front ofMadapalli, a well called as Bangarubavi (Golden well) and the water from thiswell is taken for cooking the prasadham, and for Thirumanjanam (spiritual bathgiven for the perumal).

After doing thePradhakshanam, one can see the sannadhi of Sri Ramanuja, the Sri VaishnavaAchArya. In this sannadhi, the Holy Water known as theertham and Satari areoffered for the bhaktas. There is no sannadhi for any Aacharyaas for any of theAlwars but this is the only sannadhi for the great Vaishnavite, Sri Ramanuja.

On the side of SriRamanujar sannadhi, a sannadhi for Yoga Narasimha Swamy He is giving his sevain Yoga position holding Sangu and Chakkaram on his hands which is liftedupwards.

And after worshippingall these, we will come across Thirumaamani mandapam, where 'Garuda' theVehicle of Sri Mahavishnu is found. There is a small vimaanam found on top of
Garudalwar Sannadhi.

To the west of ThirumaamaniMandapam, the Bangaru Vakili (the golden entrance) is found. And two DwaraBalagaas, jayan and Vijayan are on either side of the entrance. A custom bynamed "Thiruppaavadai" is done here during which large quantity ofcooked rice are spread in this mandapam and Bhoga Srinivasamurthi is brought tothis custom to accept it.

After crossing theBangaru Vakili, we can enter into a mandapam by named Snapana mandapam. Thismandapam is also called as "Thiruvilam Koil", where Bhoga Srinivasamurthi is found.

After crossing theSnapana Mandapam, we can find Rama medai where statues of Hanuman, Angadhan andsugreev are found and to opposite of this medai, we can see statues ofAnantham, Garudan and Vishwa karma made of five metals known as Panchalokam.

From Rama medai, onecan enter the Sayana mandapam, where the perumal is put to sleep in night(Ekantha seva).

Behind the SayanaMandapa is the Garbhagriham. (the moolavar sannadhi).

Theertham (Pushkarani)
Aksha Ganga theertham:
This is said to be oneof the sacred pushkarani of this sthalam and is situated two miles away fromthe temple and it is believed that devas regard this theertham as"Amirtham" (nectar).

Papavinasa Theertham:
This theertham is found3 miles away from the temple. As the name implies, if taken bath in this theertham,one can get rid from all of his/her sins.

Pandava theertham, Ramakrishnatheertham, Jabali theertham, kapila theertham, Vaikunta theertham, TumburuPunya theertham, Kumara dharma theertham are some of the theerthams found inthis sthalam