Tirupati is a temple town in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the foot hills of Tirumala Tirumala - Tirupati - General. Tirupati is one of the holiest places in Hinduism and is well known as kaliyuga vaikuntam by its devotees. Tirupati, or Aadhi Varaha Kshetra, as it is known in the Puranas (Scriptures on Hindu Mythology), is an important mountainous pilgrimage site in the Hindu world. It is dedicated to Vishnu the second deity of the Hindu Holy Trinity who assu ...
Including:
* Tirumala - Tirupati - General
* Tirumala - Tirupati - Tirumala
* Tirumala - Tirupati - Tirupati City
* Tirumala - Tirupati - History of the Shrine
* Tirumala - Tirupati - Festivals
* Tirumala - Tirupati - Tonsure
* Tirumala - Tirupati - Some facts
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Tirumala - Tirupati - History of the Shrine
The origins of the site are legendary. Its beginnings are shrouded in great antiquity and its origins are still a matter of scholarly debate. Sangam literature, the earliest of Tamil literature (dated between 500 B.C to 300 A.D), mentions Tirupati as Thrivengadam which used to form the northernmost frontier of the Tamil Kingdoms. Sangam literature, such as Ilango Vadigal's Silapadikaram and Satanar's Manimeghalai, bear testimony to the existence of a shrine at Tirupati. Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions of Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. While some scholars accept the antiquity of the shrine they believe that the image of Venkateswara was not originally that of Vishnu but of a buddhist deity, perhaps bodhisattva avalokiteswara. The region of Andhra in which Tirupati is located in was already known for the existence of ancient Buddhist sites of the Satavahana era, namely Nagarjunakonda and Amravati, thus scholars suggest that the ancient site of Tirupati was probably a buddhist site prior to its transformation into a Hindu one after Buddhism saw its decline in the face of Guptan Hindu Rennaissance. Even up to the time of Ramanuja, the famous Vaishnava scholar of the 12th century, the identity of the deity was still disputed until Ramanuja confirmed it to be Vishnu.
Whatever its origins, it was probably a well established Hindu shrine by the 5th century A.D, whenceforth the Alvars or Vaishnava saints who led the Bhakti or Devotional movement in South India sung in praise of Lord Venketeswara as Vishnu. For the centuries to come Tirupati was richly endowed by the kings and emperors of various dynasties thus adding to its current reputation as the richest and most opulent temple in the world. The Imperial Cholas, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagara emperors were just some of the contributors for building the temple and donating gold and other ornamanents for the temple. Tirupati survived the Moslem plunder of South India without being plundered by the invading Moslem rulers of Delhi, unlike other temples such as the Meenakshi Sundareswara in Madurai and Srirangam. Under the invasions the idol of Sriranganatha, the deity of Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping. To remember this event, a hall in Tirupati is still known as the Ranganatha mandapa. It was under the regime of the Vijayanagara emperors that the temple attained its current opulence and size. The emperors of the dynasty, in particular Krishna Deva Raya, lavished on the temple numrous objects of priceless value, ranging from diamond studded crowns to golden swords. The coronation ceremonies of the emperors were also held at Tirupati.
source : .experiencefestival.com
Whatever its origins, it was probably a well established Hindu shrine by the 5th century A.D, whenceforth the Alvars or Vaishnava saints who led the Bhakti or Devotional movement in South India sung in praise of Lord Venketeswara as Vishnu. For the centuries to come Tirupati was richly endowed by the kings and emperors of various dynasties thus adding to its current reputation as the richest and most opulent temple in the world. The Imperial Cholas, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagara emperors were just some of the contributors for building the temple and donating gold and other ornamanents for the temple. Tirupati survived the Moslem plunder of South India without being plundered by the invading Moslem rulers of Delhi, unlike other temples such as the Meenakshi Sundareswara in Madurai and Srirangam. Under the invasions the idol of Sriranganatha, the deity of Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping. To remember this event, a hall in Tirupati is still known as the Ranganatha mandapa. It was under the regime of the Vijayanagara emperors that the temple attained its current opulence and size. The emperors of the dynasty, in particular Krishna Deva Raya, lavished on the temple numrous objects of priceless value, ranging from diamond studded crowns to golden swords. The coronation ceremonies of the emperors were also held at Tirupati.
source : .experiencefestival.com
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
On The Human Hair Tonsured at Tirumala Tirupati Temple
In 2007, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is planning to sell human hair worth 450 million Indian Rupees. This is an all time record for the famous shrine in India dedicated to Lord Balaji (Vishnu). The human hair from Hindu temples like Tirupati is nicknamed ‘Temple Hair’ and is of great demand due to its spiritual value.
Head tonsuring at the 1200-year-old Venkateshwara temple is a symbolic gesture –surrendering one's ego to God. Hindu devotees also offer their hair to Lord Balaji for favors received, to show gratitude and respect. And go on a pilgrimage to Tirupati to shave off their hair.
It is not the men alone who partake in this ritual; children and women of all ages shave their head in Tirupati. And there is a high demand for the long hair of women in Europe. It is estimated that more than 1500 women partake in this tonsuring ceremony daily and the number goes high on festival and auspicious days. The women’s hair ends up in salons across the world for making hair extensions and wigs.
The tonsured hair from men is used to extract a protein called L-Cystein. This protein is used in a range of products including eatables. Men’s hair is also used in coat linings and Chinese hair industry mixes it with hair from china to make cheap wigs and hair extensions.
Now, who uses the hair from Tirupati? It is said that several Hollywood stars prefer Indian hair. Why? They are the best quality and also due to the spirituality angle. Majority of the Indian men and women use natural methods to protect their hair unlike people from other countries who use various chemicals (shampoo) to clean and beautify their hair. So the Indian hair is natural – strong and durable and can be colored, curled, heated and blow-dried. It is said that the final product made from an Indian hair is sold between $1000 to $3000.
Hundreds of barbers work round the clock to meet the high demand of tonsuring, which is carried out at kalyanakatta, an enclosure inside the temple. The hair is segregated in grades. Hair that is black and longer than 16 inches is of the highest quality. Second quality is the black hair in length between 8 and 16 inches. Next is black hair shorter than 8 inches. The next two categories are the lowest and consist of grey and other colored hair.
Till 2000, the sale of hair annually was between 100 to 150 million rupees. But then there was a global surge in demand for human hair and the temple decided to invite global tender for hair purchasing. Within a couple of years, the annual earning from human hair increased from 150 million rupees to 330 million rupees and this year it is expected to break all existing records.
source : www.hindu-blog.com
Head tonsuring at the 1200-year-old Venkateshwara temple is a symbolic gesture –surrendering one's ego to God. Hindu devotees also offer their hair to Lord Balaji for favors received, to show gratitude and respect. And go on a pilgrimage to Tirupati to shave off their hair.
It is not the men alone who partake in this ritual; children and women of all ages shave their head in Tirupati. And there is a high demand for the long hair of women in Europe. It is estimated that more than 1500 women partake in this tonsuring ceremony daily and the number goes high on festival and auspicious days. The women’s hair ends up in salons across the world for making hair extensions and wigs.
The tonsured hair from men is used to extract a protein called L-Cystein. This protein is used in a range of products including eatables. Men’s hair is also used in coat linings and Chinese hair industry mixes it with hair from china to make cheap wigs and hair extensions.
Now, who uses the hair from Tirupati? It is said that several Hollywood stars prefer Indian hair. Why? They are the best quality and also due to the spirituality angle. Majority of the Indian men and women use natural methods to protect their hair unlike people from other countries who use various chemicals (shampoo) to clean and beautify their hair. So the Indian hair is natural – strong and durable and can be colored, curled, heated and blow-dried. It is said that the final product made from an Indian hair is sold between $1000 to $3000.
Hundreds of barbers work round the clock to meet the high demand of tonsuring, which is carried out at kalyanakatta, an enclosure inside the temple. The hair is segregated in grades. Hair that is black and longer than 16 inches is of the highest quality. Second quality is the black hair in length between 8 and 16 inches. Next is black hair shorter than 8 inches. The next two categories are the lowest and consist of grey and other colored hair.
Till 2000, the sale of hair annually was between 100 to 150 million rupees. But then there was a global surge in demand for human hair and the temple decided to invite global tender for hair purchasing. Within a couple of years, the annual earning from human hair increased from 150 million rupees to 330 million rupees and this year it is expected to break all existing records.
source : www.hindu-blog.com
7 Wonders of India: Tirupati
Located on the Venkatachalam hill that forms part of the seven hills of Tirumala, the temple complex comprises of a smaller traditional temple building along with a number of modern queue and pilgrim lodging sites. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Venkateswara, also known as Balajior Srinivasa. In Vaishnava tradition, the temple is considered one of the 108 Divya Desam sites. As a tradition, pilgrims shave off their hair on visiting the temple. Also known as Seshachala. It is the most visited Hindu place of worship, and is the world's second richest in terms of the offerings made by pilgrims to the God. It is the second most visited holy place after the Vatican.
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