Venkateswara, also known by various other names, is a form of the Hindu god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within ...

. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, located in Tirupati, Sri Balaji District,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Etymology

Venkateswara literally means, "Lord of Venkata". The word is a combination of the words ''Venkata'' (the name of a hill in Andhra Pradesh) and ''isvara'' ("Lord"). According to the '' Brahmanda'' and '' Bhavishyottara''

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

, the word "Venkata" means "destroyer of sins", deriving from the Sanskrit words ''vem'' (sins) and ''kata'' (power of immunity). It is also said that 'Venkata' is a combination of two words: '''ven''' (keeps away) and kata''' (troubles). Venkata means he 'who keeps away troubles' or 'who takes away problems' or such terms in a similar context.

Legend

Every year, hundreds of thousands of devotees donate a large amount of wealth at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati,

. A legend provides the reason for the same. Once, the sages wanted to decide the deity to whom a ritual was to be dedicated. The sages appointed the sage

Bhrigu Bhrigu ( sa, भृगु, ) was a rishi in Hinduism. He was one of the seven great sages, the Saptarshis, one of the many Prajapatis (the facilitators of Creation) created by Brahma. The first compiler of predictive astrology, and also the a ...

to select the god. Bhrigu decided to test the gods. He first went to the King of

Svarga Svarga (), also known as Indraloka and Svargaloka, is the celestial abode of the devas in Hinduism. Svarga is one of the seven higher lokas ( esoteric planes) in Hindu cosmology. Svarga is often translated as heaven, though it is regarded to ...

, Indra, who ignored the sage, and was busy in enjoying the dance of '' apsaras'' in heaven. Bhrigu cursed Indra that he would only be referred to as an egoistic soul, all over the universe. He next visited

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp ...

. Brahma was busy with his four heads in chanting the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

, performing meditation, creating the world, and spending his time with his wife,

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a ...

. Next, he visited

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hin ...

. Shiva was busy in his ''Rudradhyanam'' with his wife,

Parvati Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi ...

, at his feet. Bhrigu cursed Shiva that he would be worshipped only in the formless

Lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotion ...

. At last, Bhrigu went to

. Vishnu was sleeping on Adishesha, and

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

was at his feet. When Bhrigu arrived, he first saw Vishnu's feet, and felt humiliated. Enraged, he kicked Vishnu on his chest. Awakened, Vishnu started massaging Bhrigu's feet, and served him with great hospitality. Bhrigu was pleased, and ordered the sages to perform the rites to Vishnu. Lakshmi quarelled with Vishnu, as she felt that Bhrigu insulted her indirectly by hitting Vishnu on his chest where she lived, and thus left

Vaikuntha Vaikuntha ( sa, वैकुण्ठ, lit=without anxiety, translit=Vaikuṇṭha), also called Vishnuloka (), and Tirunatu (Tirunāṭu) in Tamil, is the abode of Vishnu, the supreme deity in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism,Gavin Flood, A ...

. She settled on earth in disguise as a young-sage like boy in the ancient city of Karvir, and meditated the name of Vishnu (Regarded by adherents to be the site of the Mahalakshmi temple). Vishnu soon arrived on earth, searching for his consort. He failed to find her, and instead settled on the

Seshachalam Seshachalam Hills are hilly ranges part of the Eastern Ghats in southern Andhra Pradesh state, in southeastern India. The Seshachalam hill ranges are predominantly present in Tirupati district of the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh, India. ...

hills. This happened to be the spot in Tirupati where Varaha had rested and taught Karma Yoga to the people till the beginning of

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'', in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by ''Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. It is believed to be the present age, which ...

, after having rescuing

Bhudevi Bhumi ( sa, भूमि, Bhūmi), also known as Bhudevi and Vasundhara, is a Hindu goddess who is the personification of the Earth. She is a consort of the god Vishnu. According to Vaishnava tradition, she is the second aspect of Vishnu's cons ...

from the wicked Hiranyaksha. Vishnu sat inside an anthill in his disguise, which was situated under a tamarind tree, and started chanting the name of his wife, Mahalakshmi. The whole earth became gloomy. On the request of Parvati and Saraswati, Shiva and Brahma incarnated as a cow and a calf respectively, in the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century B ...

kingdom. This cow and calf were being grazed daily by a shepherd of Chola kingdom in the Seshachalam hills. Everyday, the cow used to pour her milk into the anthill to lessen the thirst of Vishnu. Due to this, the cow and calf became pale and unhealthy. The shepherd noticed this, and felt that something was awry. The next day, the shepherd took the animals for grazing, and as was the custom, the cow poured milk into the anthill. The shepherd saw this act, and he threw an axe (parasu) on the cow and calf. Vishnu noticed, and in order to protect them, Vishnu arose from the anthill and the axe hit his own forehead (the blood poured as his namam on his head). An enraged Vishnu cursed the shepherd that he would die immediately, and the latter succumbed to the blow of his own axe. This news reached the Chola king. The ruler suspected the absence of the shepherd. He went near the grazing field, and was surprised to see the corpse of the shepherd. He went to the grazing field, where the cows were offering their milk to Vishnu. However, Vishnu was in disguise, and so the king could not identify him. The king strung his arrow, believing that the milk should serve the kingdom rather than the boy he saw. Vishnu, once again, emerged, and grew enormous, stopped the arrows from passing further and he cursed the king for not maintaining the

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ...

of his kingdom. The king repented and surrendered at the deity's feet. Unlike the shepherd, the king had realised his mistake, which pleased Vishnu, and hence presented him with the boon that he would marry the king's daughter in his next birth. In his next birth, Vishnu incarnated as Srinivasa, to a woman named Vakuladevi. It is said that in the ''

Dvapara Yuga ''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Treta Yuga'' and followed by '' Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divi ...

'',

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

presented

Yashoda Yashoda ( sa, यशोदा, translit=Yaśodā) is the foster-mother of Krishna and the wife of Nanda. She is described in the Puranic texts of Hinduism as the wife of Nanda, the chieftain of Gokulam, and the sister of Rohini. According to the ...

with a boon that he would be born to the former in the ''

''. Vakuladevi is regarded as the reincarnation of Yashoda. Meanwhile, the goddess Lakshmi was born at the palace of Akasha Raja, the next birth of the Chola king. Srinivasa was a forest-dweller. One day, he met a beautiful girl named Padmavati, the princess of the Chola dynasty. Padmavati fell in love with Srinivasa , and decided to get married to him. According to the boon of Vishnu to the Chola king in their previous births, Srinivasa has to get married to Padmavati, princess of Chola dynasty. For the marriage expenses, Srinivasa borrowed riches from Kubera, and promised to repay the loan with interest at the end of the ''Kali Yuga''.

Literature

Skanda Purana

The Skanda Purana extols the significance of worshipping this deity:

Deity

Venkateswara, an

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

, is the presiding deity of the Tirupati temple. It is believed that the deity is ''Swayambhu'' (self manifested). The deity possesses the power of the

Trimurti The Trimūrti (; Sanskrit: त्रिमूर्ति ', "three forms" or "trinity") are the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified as a triad of ...

: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and some sects believe that Venkateswara holds the power of Shakthi and Skanda as well. Sage Annamacharya praised Venkateswara as the 'Supreme Lord' who appears as Dattatreya for yogis, Shiva for Shaivas, and appears as whichever form the devotee desires. In the 12th century,

Ramanujacharya Ramanuja ( Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents ...

visited Tirupati for settling a dispute that arose between the

Saivites Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the God, Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates ...

and Vaishnavites, regarding the nature of the deity set up in the Tirumala temple. Ramanuja streamlined the rituals at Tirumala temple according to Vaikanasa Agama tradition, and introduced the recitation of the

Naalayira Divya Prabandham The Naalayira Divya Prabandham ( ta, நாலாயிரத் திவ்வியப் பிரபந்தம், lit=Four Thousand Divine Hymns, translit=Nālāyira Divya Prabandham) is a collection of 4,000 Tamil language, Tamil ver ...

. He also set up the Tirupati Jeeyar

Matha A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

in 1119 AD, in consultation with Tirumalai Ananthalwan to institutionalise service to the deity and supervise the temple rituals. The Jeeyars, to this day, ensures that the rituals ordained by Ramanuja are observed. The deity is believed to be as old as the "Shila thoranam" in Tirumala. Tirumala has tremendous fame from the ancient period. The deity is referred to as 'Balaji' by north Indians. The scriptures state that Venkateswara is the saviour of all suffering people in the

. Emperors like Krishnadevaraya and many devotees have paid homage to Venkateswara. Lord Venkat

Five Deities

According to the Vaikhanasa Agamas, Venkateswara is represented by five deities (berams) including the Moolavirat, which are together referred to as the Pancha beramulu in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

(pancha means five; beram means deity). The five deities are Dhruva Beram (Moolavar), Kautuka Beram, Snapana Beram, Utsava Beram, and Bali Beram. All the pancha berams are placed in the Garbha griha under Ananda Nilayam Vimanam. #Moolavirat (Chief deity) or Dhruva Beram- In the centre of the Garbha griha, under the Ananda Nilayam Vimana, the Moolavirat of Venkateswara is seen in a standing posture on lotus base, with four arms, two holding shanka and chakra, one in the Varada posture, and the other in the Kati posture. This deity is considered the main source of energy for the temple, and is adorned with the Vaishnavite nama and jewels, including vajra kiritam (diamond crown), Makarakundalas, Nagabharana, Makara Kanti, Saligrama haram, Lakshmi haram. Venkateswara's consort,

, stays on the chest of the Moolavirat as Vyuha Lakshmi. #

Bhoga Srinivasa Bhoga Srinivasa is a silver deity that is a near-replica of the main deity (''Dhruva Bera'') of the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, India. The deity is also known as ''Manavalapperumal'' or ''Kautuka Bera''. The deity i ...

or Kautuka Beram -- This is a small one-foot (0.3 m) silver deity that was given to the temple in 614 AD by the

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as f ...

queen, Samavai, for conducting festivals. Bhoga Srinivasa is always placed near the left foot of Moolavirat, and is believed to always be connected to the main deity by the holy ''Sambandha Kroocha''. This deity receives many daily sevas (pleasures) on behalf of Moolavar, and is hence known as Bhoga Srinivasa (Bhoga: pleasure). This deity receives Ekanthaseva daily (the last ritual of the day), and Sahasra Kalasabhisheka (a special abhishekam (ablution) with sacred waters in 1008

kalasha A kalasha, also spelled kalash or kalasa, also called ghat or ghot ( sa, कलश , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal ( brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large base and small mouth, large en ...

s (pots)) on Wednesdays. # Ugra Srinivasa or Snapana Beram - This deity represents the fearsome (Ugra: terrible) aspect of Venkateswara. This deity was the main processional deity until 1330 CE, when it was replaced by the Malayappa Swami deity. Ugra Srinivasa remains inside the sanctum sanctorum, and is carried out on a procession only one day in a year, on ''Kaishika Dwadasi,'' before the sunrise. This deity receives daily '' abhishekam'' on behalf of Moolavirat, offering it the name Snapana Beram (Snapana: cleansing) #

Malayappa Swami Malayappa Swami is the current ''utsava murti'' (procession deity) in the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. Malayappa Swami is worshipped during religious ceremonies and processions wherein it would be inappropriate to use the main deity (f ...

or Utsava Beram - Malayappa is the processional deity (Utsava beram) of the temple, and is always flanked by the idols of his consorts,

Sridevi Shree Amma Yanger Ayyappan (13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), professionally credited with her stage name Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. Cited as the "First Femal ...

and

. This deity receives veneration on all festivals, like Brahmotsavams, Kalyanotsavam, Dolotsavam, Vasanthotsavam, Sahasra deepalankarana seva, Padmavati parinyotsavams, pushpapallaki, Anivara asthanam, Ugadi asthanam, etc. # Koluvu Srinivasa or Bali Beram - Koluvu Srinivasa represents the Bali Beram. Koluvu Srinivasa is regarded as the guardian deity of the temple, that presides over its financial and economic affairs. Daily Koluvu seva (Koluvu: engaged in) is held in the morning, during which the previous day's offerings, income, expenditures. are notified to this deity, with a presentation of accounts. Panchanga sravanam is also held at the same time, during which that particular day's tithi, sunrise and sunset time, and nakshatra. are notified to Venkateswara.

Hymns

The Venkateswara Suprabhatam is the first and pre-dawn prayer performed to Venkateswara at Sayana Mandapam, inside the sanctum sanctorum of the Tirumala Temple. 'Suprabhatam' is a Sanskrit term, which literally means ‘morning salutations’, and is meant to wake up the deity from his celestial sleep. The Venkateswara Suprabhatam hymns were composed by Prathivadhi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya during the 13th century, and consists of 70 slokas in four parts, including Suprabhatam (29), Stotram (11), Prapatti (14), and Mangalasasanam (16). Tallapaka Annamacharya (Annamayya), the poet saint of 14th century, one of the greatest Telugu poets and a great devotee of Venkateswara, had sung 32000 songs in praise of Venkateswara. All his songs, which are in

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

, are referred to as Sankirtanas and are classified as Sringara Sankirtanalu and Adhyatma Sankirtanalu.

Other Venkateswara temples

;India: * Venkateswara Temple, Dwaraka Tirumala, West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh * Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Kurukshetra, Haryana * Paduthirupathi Venkataramana Temple, Karkala, Karnataka * Sri Venkataramana Temple, Carstreet, Mangalore, Karnataka, India * Venkatachalapathy Temple * Shree Balaji Mandir, Fanaswadi *Shri Lakshmi Venkate Devasthan, Chatribagh, Indore, Madhya Pradesh *Kodandarama Temple, Buchireddypalem, Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh *Shri Balaji Temple, Washim, Maharastra *Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam, Jamalapuram, Khammam Dist, Telangana *Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam, Kaman Bajar, Khammam Dist, Telangana *Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam, Garla, Khammam Dist, Telangana *Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam, Jeelacheruvu, Khammam Dist, Telangana *Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devastanam, Palvoncha, Khammam Dist, Telangana ;Indonesia: * Sri Balaji Venkateswara Temple,

Medan Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four ma ...

North Sumatera North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

;Mauritius: *Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swami Temple, La Laura-Malenga *Hari Hara Devasthanam ;United States of America: Lord Balaji only at Parashakthi Temple

* Malibu Hindu Temple,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

* Venkateswara Temple, Minnesota *

Sri Venkateswara Temple, Pittsburgh Sri Venkateswara Temple, Pittsburgh is a Hindu temple in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania. Constructed in the style of the Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, India, it is the oldest Hindu temple in the United States built by Indian immigrants. It is ...

* Sri Venkatewara Temple of North Carolina * Sri Balaji Temple, Bridgewater, NJ * Sri Venkateswara Temple at Castle Rock, Denver, Colorado
Sree Venkatesvara temple, Richfield Ohio
(Cleveland area) *

Hindu Temple of Atlanta The Hindu Temple of Atlanta is a Hindu Temple located in Riverdale, Georgia and serves the Hindu population in the Metro Atlanta. But because of its proximity on the I-75, and its popularity, 10 to 15% of devotees are from the eastern seaboard an ...

, Riverdale GA
Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple, Aurora Illinois
(Chicago Area)
Sri Venkateswara Temple of Central Ohio
(Columbus, Ohio)
HECSA Portland Balaji Temple
(Hillsboro, Oregon) ;Australia: *Venkateswara Temple ;England: * Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, West Midlands, England ;Malaysia *Sri Venkatachalapathi & Alamelu Temple, Batu Caves, Selangor ;Nepal *Narayanhiti Temple (Inside Royal Palace of Narayanhiti) Kathmandu *Budhanilakantha Temple ( Sleeping Vishnu), Kathmandu

References

External links

Veṅkaṭācala-māhātmya, Skanda PuranaOfficial Tirumala Homepage
{{Authority control Forms of Vishnu Regional Hindu gods Telugu names