Myoksha Travels

Powered by The Temple Girl

Tirumala

Lord Venkateswara Swamy Tirumala – Story and Miracles

, 2 Comments Filed Under: Tirumala

Lord Venkateswara is a Hindu God, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh in India. He is also known as Srinivasa, Balaji, Venkata, Venkata Ramana, Tirupati Timmappa and Govinda.

What is the meaning of the word Venkateswara?

Venkateswara actually means Lord of Venkata. The word is actually a combination of two words. The first word ‘Venkata‘ is the name of a hill in Andhra Pradesh where the Lord resides and the second word ‘Isvara‘ means Lord. Also, “Venkata” is a Sanskrit word meaning “destroyer of sins” where ven means sins and kata means to destroy.

What is the story of Lord Venkateswara?

Payback of Kubera’s Loan – As per the legend, Lord Venkateshwara took a loan from Kubera for his wedding arrangements with Padmavathi. A large Hundi is present inside the temple complex where devotees offer money and gold to God. Devotees donate with the belief that he can pay back the loan to Kubera.

What is the miracle of Lord Venkateswara?

An amazing miracle happened at the midnight of 7th November 1979 at Tirumala Tirupati Temple. At that time, the whole town of Tirumala was in a deep sleep.

Suddenly, the huge bronze bells, that were hanging in front of Lord Venkateswara inside the Sanctum, started to ring loudly on their own without anyone touching them. The sound of the Bronze bells shocked the Purohits, security staff, temple staff, and the pilgrims.

How many wives does Lord Venkateswara have?

Lord Venkateswara has two wives. The first wife is Goddess Lakshmi and the second wife is Goddess Padmavathi.

Wives of Lord Venkateshwara
Lord Venkateshwara presents with two wives – Goddess Lakshmi & Goddess Padmavathi.

Who was the son of Lord Venkateswara?

According to the Vishnu Purana, Kamadeva– the Lord of love and sexuality was the son of Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi. Also, Naraka Asura was the second son of Lord Varaha with his wife Bhudevi.

What is the appearance of Lord Venkateswara?

Lord Venkateswara is shown as having a dark complexion and four hands. In his upper two hands, Lord Venkateswara holds a discus (a symbol of power) and a shell (a symbol of existence). His lower hands are inclining downwards wherein the Lord asks the devotees to have faith and surrender to him for protection.

Why Lord Venkateswara’s eyes are covered?

Lord Venkateswara’s idol wears a white mask that covers his eyes. It is believed that the devotees cannot face the powerful radiation arising from the eyes of the Lord. Hence, the eyes are covered on most days except on Thursdays when the size of the eye is relatively smaller.

How tall is Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala?

The height of the statue of the Lord Venkateswara is around 9′ 9″ (nine feet and nine inches) which includes the crown over his head. Also, the statue stands on a stone pedestal which is 18 inches in height.

Which day is for Lord Venkateswara?

Wednesdays are ideal days for worshipping Lord Venkateswara. Lord Venkateswara is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu and Wednesday is considered ideal for planet Mercury whose related God is also Lord Vishnu.

Is Tirupati Balaji and Lord Hanuman same?

Yes, Balaji and Hanuman are the same God in different forms. In the Northern area, most of the people call Bal Hanuman as Balaji Maharaja. However, in South India, Balaji is being referred to Lord Venkateswara only and not Hanuman.

Poolangi Seva Tirumala – Timings, Cost, Booking

, 3 Comments Filed Under: Pujas, Tirumala

Here is everything you want to know about Poolangi Seva of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala.

What is Poolangi Seva?

The Tiruppavada seva and Poolangi Seva are offered at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam every Thursday.

Tiruppavada Seva

Every Thursday, after the morning pooja, the Mula Virat is divested of all ornaments, flowers, etc. The deity will be draped only in Dhoti and Uttareeyam. The Thirunamam Kaappu and Kasturi on the forehead of the main deity are also reduced in size. This results in the unique posture of the Lord where one can witness the peculiar Netra Darshan (where the divine eyes of the Lord can be seen) of the main deity.

Poolangi Seva

After the Tiruppavada Seva, the temple observes some rituals like suddhi (cleaning of the temple), etc., and the Moola Virat is adorned with Velvet Gown from Crown to the Feet and then the main deity is decorated with flower garlands.

Poolangi Seva Tirumala
Poolangi Seva in Tirumala

Who should perform Poolangi Seva?

Here’s who should do Poolangi Seva:

  • Anyone who wants to offer their prayers to Lord Venkateswara should perform this seva.

What are the best days to do Tiruppavada and Poolangi Seva?

The best days to perform this sevas are:

  • These poojas are performed only on Thursday.
  • One should make prior bookings to get the dates to perform this pooja.
  • It should be performed early in the morning, the best time to do this pooja is 5 a.m.

What is the procedure for performing Poolangi and Tiruppavada Seva?

Here’s how to do Tiruppavada Seva:

  • On Thursdays, Tiruppavada Seva is performed as arjitha Seva in the Mandapam in front of the Bangura Vakili and Annakutotsavam (where heaps of tamarind rice are poured) is performed.
  • A large rectangular tub – like golden vessel is placed in the mandapam and a huge quantity of “Pulihora”-tamarind rice, along with other sweet preparations such as payasam, laddu, jilebi, thenthola, appam etc and other delicacies are deposited thereon with coconuts, flowers, sandal paste, Kumkum, deepam and is placed in that trapezoid receptacle to be offered as naivedya to the Lord.
  • Amidst chanting of Mantras, the previous wide Naamam is peeled off and a thin Naamam is adorned on the forehead of Mula Virat just to cover the space between His eyebrows.
  • When this happens, it is believed that the Lord’s first gaze after “opening” His Eyes (because they were covered by the Naamam earlier) should not fall on mortals, because it has huge power that could not be withstood by humans.
  • Instead, it is made to fall on the mound of “Pulihora” directly in front of Him, thereby sanctifying it and reducing the intensity of His Gaze. The “Pulihora” therefore acts like a Veil (“Paavada” in Telugu/Tamil) protecting devotees from His Powerful Gaze.

Here’s how to do Poolangi Seva:

  • Poolangi Seva is a ritual in which the Moola Virat of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Temple, is dressed in rich velvety attire, covering the Moola Virat from head to toe.
  • Garlands made of flowers are then put on the deity. Every Thursday after the Tiruppavada Seva the Poolangi Seva is performed. It is an ancient ritual and a reference to the ritual is even made in the Tamil classic, Silappadikaram, in sometime around 756 AD.

Where to perform Tiruppavada and Poolangi Seva?

A devotee can perform these poojas in the Tirumala temple premises. It is performed only on Thursday.

What is the cost of Poolangi Seva?

  • The pilgrims who wish to be a part of Tiruppavada and Poolangi seva, they need to book tickets either online through ttd website or offline. Ticket cost is approximately Rs. 850/- per person. The pilgrim can book for 6 persons at a time.
  • They will also get Prasadam after conducting the seva as 1 Big Laddu, 1 Vada, 1 Jalebi, 1 Tentola, Pulihora, and 1 Uttariyam or 1 Blouse piece.