From the pages of yore
A.D. RANGARAJAN
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The TTD is on a mission to unearth hitherto unknown facts about Venkatachala Kshetram or the present day Tirumala.
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`Silappadhikaram' has a mention of Tiruvengadam, the Tirumala of today
K.V. Raghavacharya
Tirumala is considered the most sacred shrine in the country and the world's second richest place of worship, while the presiding deity Lord Venkateswara is revered as the most influential God.
But, need not we know what the God meant to the devotees, saints and pontiffs of the past, when it was known as `Venkatachala Kshetram' and not Tirumala? And since when the Lord is worshipped in the present form and whether the epics have a mention of his holy abode?
It was with the intention of unearthing invaluable information from the history's seabed and furthering the Venkateswara cult that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) came out with the project `Sri Venkateswara in Indian literature' in 1991. The motive was to unearth and compile information available on the Lord from various scriptures, literary works, endowments/donations pertaining to the temple and commentaries. The project was the brainchild of late S.B. Raghunathacharya, who formerly headed the TTD's S.V. Institute of Higher Vedic Learning.
SACRED SHRINE `Sri Venkateswara in Indian Literature' unearths invaluable information.
Literary work
Twelve Puranas described the Seshachala hill ranges, scores of theerthams (water bodies), the presiding deity's powers, his incarnations, the blissful experiences of his devotees and more. It was a priest, Pasindi Venkatatthuraivar, who had collected all the Puranas and compiled a Sanskrit literary work Sri Venkatachala Mahatmyam in 1490 AD. This work is reckoned as the authority on Tirumala even today.While the Telugu literature (Andhra Sahityam) had a mention of the Lord only from the 15th century, Tamil literature spoke of Tirumala in the 2nd century. Silappadhikaram has a mention of Tiruvengadam, which is nothing but the Tirumala of today. This may be perhaps due to Tirumala's proximity to the Tamil speaking region and its popularity in the Tamil-ruled kingdom.
"The project is nearing completion", says K.V. Raghavacharya, who has been entrusted the task. Elaborating, he says, "the first chapter Srinivasa puranam deals with the mythological aspects like Venkateswara's manifestation on earth, his celestial wedding with Padmavathi, forms of worship at Tirumala, legends and festivals, besides the description of Venkatadri's splendour and efficacy. The second chapter is about Venkateswara in Telugu literature, third on original literature during 15th-18th century period and the fourth on modern Telugu literature authored during 19th-20th century. The fifth is on works translated from other languages, sixth on research projects and the seventh on periodical literature, i.e., articles appeared in dailies and journals."While these are collections from literary texts, the eighth part is devotee-oriented and hence is the most relevant. It deals with regional customs, vows and observances like fasting on Saturdays, conduct of Sri Venkateswara puja after weddings and house-warming functions in several households, the newly founded Govindamala tradition, akin to the Ayyappamala of Sabarimala.For this, the research officer has collected some rare books like Venkatachala Yatra Charitra - A diary by Matukumalli Nrusimha Kavi (1864 AD), a drama Srinivasa Kalyanamu written by Vikramadeva Varma in 1899, Sri Venkatachala Mahatmyamu - Telugu poetry by Sistu Krishnamurti Sastry (1858), Sawal -e- Jawab, an authoritative record of 1800 AD of the holy shrine of Lord Venkateswara, Tirumala among others.
He has also collected details on the festivals, endowments and charities, as available from copperplate inscriptions of 1252 AD. "Once published, the project is sure to unravel hitherto-unknown historical facts about Tirumala and show the lord in new light", says Raghavacharya.
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