Why pilgrims shower gifts on the Lord of Seven Hills at Tirupati
Every year hundreds of thousands of devotees leave generous offerings at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati. Legend supplies the reason: to pay for his wedding, the deity is said to have taken a huge loan from Kubera, god of wealth, and the faithful have been helping him repay it ever since.
Venkateswara, also called Srinivasa, Govinda and, in north India, Balaji, is worshipped as a form of Vishnu. His name means Lord of Venkata, a hill in Andhra Pradesh already mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature dated to 300 BCE. Later Puranas, dated between 500 and 1000 CE, explain Venkata as destroyer of sins, from Tamil roots. In Tamil and Telugu alike he is popularly known as Lord of the Seven Hills.
The founding story starts with a quarrel. The sage Bhrigu, sent to test the gods, was ignored first by Brahma and Shiva and then by Vishnu, who sat absorbed in meditation with Lakshmi at his side. The goddess left after the affront, and Vishnu went to Venkata Hill, settling in an anthill beneath a tamarind tree and chanting her name. He emerged as Srinivasa, raised by the elderly Vakula Devi, whom tradition identifies as a rebirth of Krishna's foster-mother Yashoda.
While hunting, Srinivasa chased an elephant into a royal garden and fell for Princess Padmavati, herself an incarnation of Lakshmi. Disguised as a fortune-teller, he won his way into the palace; with the gods' blessing and Kubera's loan, the couple married at Narayanavanam and moved to Tirumala. Some six months later, the story goes, Vishnu resolved to remain on the seven hills to free humanity from the troubles of the Kali Yuga, and both Lakshmi and Padmavati turned to stone to stay with him, resting on either side of his chest.
Devotees believe the image arose by itself rather than being carved. It blends symbols of Vishnu and Shiva, including a serpent ornament linked to Shiva, so followers see in it the universal form described in chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita. His disc is said to destroy evil and his conch to end ignorance. The Padma and Skanda Puranas praise him, the Skanda text promising that a visit to the lord of Venkata burns away sins as fire consumes wood. His mantra is Om Namo Venkateshaya.
Source: Venkateswara
