INTRODUCTION
Tirumala is the true Vaikunta Stala which means, Tirumala is nothing but the holy Vaikunta itself. Similar to the Mount Kailash Mansorover, which is believed to be the true abode of Lord Shiva, the Venkateswara Temple of Tirumala, which is situated in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India, is also considered to be the real abode of Lord Vishnu, and we can also consider that the two heavenly abodes of Lord Vishnu, the Parkadal and the Paramapadam are nothing but our holy Tirumala itself, which is believed to have been existed just after the start of this Kaliyuga.
Since the original Lord Vishnu himself had transformed in the form of Tirumala Venkateswara, our Holy Tirumala Temple must have to be considered as the true Vaikunta itself! Many ancient kings and queens were repaired and renovated this wonderful temple, and also donated lot of lands in order to increase the size of this temple. Great Saints like Sri Vyasaraja and Guru Raghavendra have visited this holy temple, and rendered divine service to their beloved deity.
Sri Vyasaraja stayed for a few years in Tirumala Temple, and also served as a chief priest during his period. It is also mentioned that by considering Tirumala to be a holy hill, Sri Vyasaraja used to climb the holy hill on his knee. Before a century ago, when there was no proper road facilities from Tirupati to Tirumala, most of the people would travel from Tirupati to Tirumala only by the way of walk. Throughout their journey, their lips would recite the name “GOVINDA”, “GOVINDA”, even without leaving a gap. From the temple records, it was known that an ancient Pallava queen Samavai has donated lot of ornaments and lands, and Sri Krishnadevaraya, the famous Vijayanagar Emperor had wilfully donated lot of valuables to Tirumala Temple, and also used to visit the Magnificent Temple frequently along with his queens.
At present, the Tirumala Temple is being run under the proper administration of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Department, which is popularly called as TTD, and TTD is operating various schemes for the benefit of the public like Annadana Scheme, Gosamrakshana Scheme and Arokyavaraprasadhini Scheme etc. The TTD Temple kitchen is being functioning in a nice manner, under the supervision of higher officials of TTD. It is also believed, that the foster mother of Sri Venkateswara, MA Vakula Devi, still now efficiently supervises the food preparation at the Tirumala Kitchen in an invisible form, and also smells the food, before it goes to the plates of the devotees.
We can surely get a pleasant experience by visiting the Holy Tirumala, since Tirumala must be considered ONLY as the “REAL VAIKUNTA” itself!
“OM NAMO VENKATESAYA NAMAHA”
Sent By
R.HariShankar
