Tell about Tirupati Balaji ?

Tirupati has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under Smart Cities Mission by Government of India.

Tirupati Balaji Temple holds a special significance amongst Hindus. According to the religion, Hinduism says that there are a total of 8 Vishnu Swayambhu Kshetras and Tirupati is one of them. Also, this temple is mentioned by the Tamil Azhwar saints to be one amongst 106 Vishnu temples, to be present in the earthly realms.

One can hear the sound of roaring ocean placing an ear on the back of Lord’s idol.

As per the Vaikhanasa traditions, the deity is worshipped six times a day. Ushakala, Prathakala, Madhyanika, Aparahaa, Sandhyakala and Ardharatri Aradhana are the six aradhanas done for the deity.

Lakshmi Devi is said to be present on the heart of Swamy Venkateswara.

As per the book Symposium written by Dr. Jagannatha Rao, it was assumed that Tirupati might have been Tripathi and Tri might be a Sanskrit word referring to Lord of Tripathy of the sacred hill.

This temple is gloriously described by the Hindu scriptures as the earthly location where Lord Vishnu resides in the age of Kali

According to the temple pandits and Brahmins on Thursdays, during Nija Roopa Darshanam.

The Tirupati Balaji or Shree Venkateshwara Swami temple is one of the most pivotal landmarks of the Hindu mythology, holding a magnificent position in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.

In Dravidian translation, Tiru means the sacred or Goddess Lakshmi and pathi means husband.

Lord Balaji is decorated with white wood paste and when this paste is taken out, the imprint on Laxmi Devi remains which is later sold by the temple authorities.

Tirupati Balaji temple is the most popular temple on the earth today inviting the maximum number of devotes on any given day and attracting the largest amount of donations from them on a daily basis.

The earthen oil lamps (deepam) that are used in worshipping Lord Balaji are always placed in front of the Balaji idol and the lamps never get put off as it is unknown till yet when these lamps were lit up for the first ever time. It is believed that they were lit up thousands of years ago and will remain the same forever.

According to Varaha Purana, during Treta Yugam, Lord Sri Rama resided here along with Sita Devi and Lakshmana on his return from Lankapuri

Some interesting stories from mythology say that the Lord manifested on the earth to bless the devotees during the age of Kali.

It is believed and said that in 1800, the temple was closed for 12 years as one King had punished 12 people for some crime by killing them and hanging them on the temple walls and it was the time when Vimana Venkateswara Swamy, Lord Balaji himself appeared in real.

Tirumala (Upper Tirupati) This town was an established centre of Vaishnavism around the 5th century A.D. during which it was praised by Alvars.

It is said that no matter how many times, the back of the idol of Lord Balaji is dried up and cleaned, it remains wet and moist always.

Once, Sage Brighu wanted to evaluate who amongst the Holy Trinity was the greatest.

The temple rites were formalised by the Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya in the 11th century AD

When someone deceases, like one does not see behind and lights the fire, similarly, the flowers that are removed from Swamy are thrown at the back of the idol and the pandits do not look at the back of the Lord Balaji that entire day. All these flowers are said to seen coming out at a place called Verpedu that is 20 km from Tirupati.

When he checked with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva, he was not satisfied, so he went to Vaikuntha and kicked Lord Vishnu on his chest.

Tirupati survived the Muslim and British invasions. During the early 1300s Muslim invasion of South India, the deity of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping

Goddess Lakshmi was residing in the chest of Lord Vishnu, she felt insulted and left Vaikuntha and came down to the Earth.

The Tirumala Hills entrance arch resembles the hood of a serpent which is considered unique in the world. It is also said that the main deity in Balaji Tirupati temple is of the same height as the height of the entrance arch.