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Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Greater Chicago. Located in Aurora IL.
Lord Venkateswara | |
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Telugu | వేంకటేశ్వర |
Affiliation | Form of Maha Vishnu |
Abode | Vaikuntam, Tirumala |
Mantra | Om Namo Venkatesaya, Om Namo Narayana |
Weapon | Shankha, Chakra |
Symbols | Namam |
Mount | Garuda |
Region | South India |
Consorts | Lakshmi / Padmavathi |
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Vaishnavism |
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Venkateswara (Sanskrit: वेङ्कटेश्वर, IAST: Vēṅkaṭēśvara), also known as Śrīnivāsa, Bālājī, Vēṅkaṭa, Venkata Ramana, Vēṅkaṭāchalapati, Tirupati Timmappa and Govindha,[1] is a form of the Hindu god Maha Vishnu. Venkateswara is the presiding deity of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple located in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh in India.
- 2Legend
- 3Deity
- 6Venkateswara temples outside India
Etymology[edit]
Venkateswara literally means 'Lord of Venkata'.[2][3] The word is a combination of the words Venkata (the name of a hill in Andhra Pradesh) and isvara ('Lord').[4] According to the Brahmanda and BhavishyottaraPuranas, the word 'Venkata' means 'destroyer of sins', deriving from the Sanskrit words vem (sins) and kata (power of immunity).[5]
Legend[edit]
Lord Venkateswara with consorts Bhudevi and Padmavati.
Lord Sri Venkateswara at Parashakthi Temple in Pontiac, Michigan, USA
Venkateswara's debt to Kubera[edit]
Every year, lakhs of devotees donate a large amount of wealth at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.[6] Goddess Lakshmi, also referred as Sri, once had a fight with Lord Vishnu and left Vaikunta. She came and settled on earth in disguise. Lord Vishnu soon arrived on earth searching for Goddess Lakshmi. But He failed to find her and instead settled on Tirumala hills in the form of a forest gatherer and continued the search. During the search, Lord Vishnu met a beautiful girl named Padmavati who was the daughter of the King of the seven hills in Tirumala. They both fell in love and decided to get married.
The father of Padmavati asked for a huge bridal price and to pay the money Lord Vishnu took a large loan from Kubera, the Hindu god who is the treasurer of wealth. Kubera gave the loan on the condition that Vishnu cannot return to Vaikunta (heavenly abode) without paying off the debt.[citation needed]
Lord Vishnu resides at Tirumala as Tirupati Venkateswara without returning to Vaikunta until the payment is made. To help him repay his debt, devotees offer him wealth and in return Lord Vishnu fulfills their prayers.In 2014, an RTI petition was filed by Narasimha Murti,[7] an RTI activist[7] belonging to Bangalore, seeking to know 'how much Lord Venkateswara had received from Lord Kubera and how many more years it would take for the devotees to clear this debt'.[7]
Deity[edit]
Venkateswara, an avatar of Vishnu is the presiding deity of the Tirupati temple. It is believed that the Moolavirat is Swayambhu (self manifested).
A replica of Garbhagriha of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple depicting Left - Sri Devi Bhu Devi Sametha Malayappa Swamy, Center - Lord Venkateswara Main Deity (Dhruva beram), Center bottom - Bhoga Srinivasa, Right- Ugra Srinivasa, Sita Lakshmana Sametha Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Rukhmini
Pancha berams[edit]
As per Vaikanasa agamas, Venkateswara is represented by five deities(berams) including the Moolavirat which are together referred to as Pancha beramulu(Pancha means five;Beram means Deity).[8] The five deities are Dhruva Beram(Moolavar), Kautuka Beram, Snapana Beram, Utsava Beram, Bali Beram. All the pancha berams are placed in the Garbha griha under Ananda Nilayam Vimanam.[8]
- Moolavirat or Dhruva Beram- In the centre of Garbha griha, under the Ananda Nilayam Vimana, the Moolavirat of Venkateswara is seen in standing posture on lotus base, with four arms, two holding Shanka and Chakra and one in Varada posture and other in Kati posture. This deity is considered the main source of energy for the temple and adorns with Namam and jewels including vajra kiritam(diamond crown), Makarakundalams, Nagabharanam, Makara Kanti, Saligrama haram, Lakshmi haram.[8] Venkateswara's consort, Lakshmi will be staying on the chest of the Moolavirat as Vyuha Lakshmi.
- Bhoga Srinivasa or Kautuka Beram -- This is a small one-foot (0.3 m) silver deity which was given to the temple in 614 AD by Pallava Queen Samavai for conducting festivals. Bhoga Srinivasa is always placed near the left foot of Moolavirat and is always connected to the main deity by a holy Sambandha Kroocha.This deity will receive many daily sevas(pleasures) on behalf of Moolavar and hence known as Bhoga Srinivasa(In Telugu: Bhoga means Pleasure). This deity receives Ekanthaseva daily[9] and SahasraKalasabhisheka on Wednesdays.
- Ugra Srinivasa or Snapana Beram - This deity represents the fearsome(Telugu: Ugra means angry) aspect of Lord Venkateswara.[10][11] This deity is the main processional deity until 1330 CE when it was replaced by Malayappa swami deity.[8] Ugra Srinivasa remains inside the sanctum sanctorum and comes out on a procession only one day in a year: on Kaishika Dwadasi, before the sunrise.[11][10] This deity receives daily abhishekam on behalf of Moolavirat, giving the name Snapana Beram(Sanskrit: Snapana means cleansing)
- Malayappa swami or Utsava Beram - Malayappa is the processional deity(Utsava beram) of the Temple and is always flanked by the deities of his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi. This deity receives 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 Bali Beram. Koluvu Srinivasa is regarded as the guardian deity of the temple that presides over its financial and economic affairs. Daily Koluvu seva(Telugu: Koluvu means engaged in) will be 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 also will be held at the same time during which that particular days Tithi, sunrise and sunset time, nakshatra are notified to the Venkateswara.
Literature[edit]
Songs and Hymns[edit]
Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam is the first and pre-dawn seva performed to Lord Venkateswara at Sayana Mandapam inside sanctum sanctorum of Tirumala Temple. 'Suprabhatam' is a Sanskrit term which literally means ‘Good Morning’ and is meant to wake up the Lord from His celestial sleep.[12][13] Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam hymns were composed by Prathivadhi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya during 13th century and consists of 70 slokas in four parts including Suprabhatam(29), Stotram(11), Prapatti(14) and Mangalasasanam(16).[13][12]
Tallapaka Annamacharya (Annamayya), the poet saint[14] of 14th century, one of the greatest Telugu poets and a great devotee of Lord Venkateswara, had sung 32000 songs in praise of Lord Venkateswara.[15][14] All his songs which are in Telugu and Sanskrit, are referred to as Sankirtanas and are classified as Sringara Sankirtanalu and Adhyatma Sankirtanalu.[14] One of his songs is as follows:
Telugu అన్ని మంత్రములు ఇందె ఆవహించెను వెన్నతో నాకు గలిగె వేంకటేశు మంత్రము నారదుడు జపియించె నారాయణ మంత్రము చేరె ప్రహ్లాదుడు నారసింహ మంత్రము కోరి విభీషణుడు చేకొనె రామ మంత్రము వేరెనాకు గలిగె వేంకటేశు మంత్రము | IAST anni mantramulu nindē yāvahiñcenu | vennatō nāku galige vēṅkaṭēśu mantramu || nāraduḍu japiyiñce nārāyaṇa mantramu | cēre prahlāduḍu nārasiṃha mantramu | kōri vibhīṣaṇuḍu cēkone rāma mantramu | vēre nāku galige vēṅkaṭēśu mantramu || |
“ | All mantras originated here, I got venkaTESa mantram from infancy itself. Narada chanted nArAyaNa mantram, prahlAda got nArasimha mantram vibheeshaNa lovingly took up rAma mantram, I got venkaTESa mantram. | ” |
Venkateswara temples outside India[edit]
Mauritius[edit]
- Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swami Temple, La Laura-Malenga
United States of America[edit]
- Malibu Hindu Temple, California
Australia[edit]
Sri Venkateswara Temple Helensburgh
- Venkateswara Temple, Helensburgh
England[edit]
Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, West Midlands, England
See also[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Venkateshwara. |
References[edit]
- ^Tourist Guide to Andhra Pradesh. Sura Books. 1992. p. 21.
- ^Daniel C. Maguire; Harold Coward (2000). Visions of a New Earth. SUNY Press. p. 115.
- ^William Schweiker (2008). The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics. John Wiley & Sons. p. 474.
- ^John Stratton Hawley and Vasudha Narayanan (2006). The Life of Hinduism. University of California Press. p. 233.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
- ^Nanditha Krishna (2000). Balaji-Venkateshwara, Lord of Tirumala-Tirupati. Vakils, Feffer, and Simons. p. 49.
- ^'Why do we Hindus offer Gold and large amount of money at Tirupati Balaji Temple?'. Hindu Blog. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ abcHemanth Kashyap (11 December 2014). 'He Seeks Answers from the God of 'Big' Things'. Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ abcdSri Venkateshwara. Shantha Nair.
- ^'Tiruppavai to replace Suprabhata Seva'. times of india. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ ab'Much awaited Kaisika Dwadasi falls on November 11'. times of india. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ ab'Fervour marks 'Kaisika Dwadasi' at Tirumala'. The Hindhu. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ abV.K., Subramanian. Sacred Songs of India, Volume 10. Abhinav publications. p. 59. ISBN81-7017-444-9.
- ^ ab'Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams-Suprabhatam'. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
- ^ abcPoet Saints of India. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 1996.
- ^101 Mystics of India. Abhinav Publications. 2006.
External links[edit]
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