Tirupati Balaji Temple : A Brief Travel Diary

It is said that Tirupati Balaji is the richest deity in the world. The word 'Tiru' in Telugu means Sri or Lakshmi, meaning Lakshmi's husband or Tirupati. Many call him Govinda, Vishnu, Lord Balaji or Lord Venkatesh. Here is a wonderful combination of devotion, faith and pleasant nature. People believe that if you make a vow to Balaji, it will be fulfilled. That is why millionaires, megastars, politicians, diplomats from outside the country also come to the Tirupati temple.

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 The Tirupati Balaji Temple is located on the summit of Tirumala in the Chittur district of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The founder of the temple was King Sri Krishna Debray of Vijayanagar.

The word Tirumala in Tamil means sacred mountain. You have to take a bus from the bus stand adjacent to Tirupati station on the plains to reach the 80 meter high Tirumala temple town. Ascending and descending, crossing 56 hair pin bends, 25 km (45 minutes) of this mountain path will make you forget the fatigue of your train journey. For enthusiasts or those who vow, there is a canopied walkway (15 km) from Alipiri. On the way there are restrooms, doctors, drinking water, free food and on the way to the forest (under Sri Venkatesh Sanctuary) you can see deer, peacocks, pigs, foxes, big squirrels, various birds.

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The town of Tirumala is centered around the temple with an area of ​​about 4 sq km. The average winter temperature is 15 degrees. Adjacent to the temple, it is customary for the husband to bathe in the water of the pool and visit Balaji. You can visit Dev in less time by buying advance tickets and there is also a free visit. To enter the temple, everyone needs to have an ID card and dress in Indian style. Men's dhoti-pajamas-Punjabi-dress and women's sari-shalwar kameez and orna are recommended. The main entrance or gopuram of the temple is a 250 feet high example of Dravidian architecture. In the temple there is a flagpole wrapped in gold leaf. The temple has extraordinary stone carvings, idols of gods and goddesses. 

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The pinnacle of the main temple is covered with gold. Except during the festival, An average of twenty thousand fans gather every day. So you can visit Tirupati Balaji by crossing the long line for at least 3-5 hours. Devdarshan in the dim light of the lamp in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Balaji, a quadrilateral deity of 2 m in height, adorned with pearls, gold ornaments and garlands, is standing, with conch and wheel in both hands, Abhayamudra in one hand and Sridevi and Bhudevi in ​​the other. Apart from Balaji, other attractions of the temple include money counting house, palanquin of gods, musical instruments used in festivals, oil paintings of kings and emperors, scales of huge size (custom of donating retail money for the weight of a child) etc.

 There is a custom of shaving the head of both men and women. There is no tradition of worshiping with flowers and fruit baskets, the rule is to donate money in hundi (treasure of money) as a prostration to God. Devotees light camphor lamps at a place outside the temple, The coconut is cracked and offered. After visiting Balaji, laddu or polao prasad is given to each visitor. Extra Laddu Prasad One person can purchase a maximum of two from the specified counter for Rs. Apart from this, two laddu per head is available for free on the ticket. Near the temple, there are four large dining halls (each can seat 2,000 people) and there are two free meals (rice, sambar, silk, vegetables, chutney, molasses paste and whey) twice a day. You will be impressed by the cleanliness of the dining hall, the beautiful arrangement of feeding so many people at once, the serving of food on banana leaves, filtered drinking water, machines to prevent the entry of flies and mosquitoes into the hall. Chutney, nolen molasses paste and whey. This Amritasam Prasad is accepted by 50,000 people every day. Over one and a half lakh during the festival. 

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The cleanliness of the dining hall, the beautiful arrangement of feeding so many people at once, the serving of food on banana leaves, filtered drinking water, machines to prevent the entry of flies and mosquitoes into the hall will impress you. Chutney, nolen molasses paste and whey. This Amritasam Prasad is accepted by 50,000 people every day. Over one and a half lakh during the festival. The cleanliness of the dining hall, the beautiful arrangement of feeding so many people at once, the serving of food on banana leaves, filtered drinking water, machines to prevent the entry of flies and mosquitoes into the hall will impress you.

Where to stay

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has many guest houses. Non AC 100/500 AC 1000/1500. Rooms can be booked online. Website: www.ttdsevaonline.com Remember, booking is not canceled (booking money is donated to Balaji Fund).

The house is booked for one day. An additional one day can be extended from the Spot Reservation Office upon special request. There are guest houses and hospices of various organizations in the hills. TTD has guest houses and luxury hotels around the station.

What to see

There are temples of various gods and goddesses in the vicinity of the main temple… Varaha Swami Mandir, Anjana Swami Mandir, Ram Mandir, besides marriage mandapa, Vedic mandapa, Goshala, Kalyankata etc. From Tirumala in the morning you can rent a jeep / sumo / maruti / minibus (Rs. 100 per head) and visit 8 sites in 5-6 hours. ুগ , Hanging Stones, Chakratirtham, Sri Hari Padalu (Footprints) and SV Museum.

There are also seven spectacular temples in Tirupati (on the plains). You will find lots of cars in front of the bus stand or guest house. Let's go out in the morning and go to Kapilatirtham first. There is water in the temple and fountain of Shiva Parvati, in the rainy season and in the spring there is water. After that let's go to Padmavati temple (wife of Balaji). Here too you have to buy a ticket or visit for free. However, the crowd is not high here. Free food offerings are also available here (space limited). After this you can visit Srinivasa Mangapuram, Agastaswara Swami Temple, Kodandaramaswamy Temple, Govindarajaswamy Temple (closed at noon) and ISKCON Temple. From here you can visit Chandragiri Fort (11 km), Pushpagiri Hills (12 km), Srikalahasti (36 km), Vellore Fort (120 km) and the Golden Temple at a distance of 8 km.

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