Being a religious person I miss no opportunity to visit the many holy places of India. So, when sometime back I got a chance to visit Tirupati—one of the most visited holy places in India, besides being a wonderful destination for the Hindus throughout the world--I grabbed the chance with both hands.

Tirupati is an ancient place. It finds mention in the Sangam literature in which it is mentioned as Thiruvengadam. The Puranas also mention Tirupati. The city of Tirupati has seven hills that look like a snake from the top with the last of the seven hills looking like the hood of a snake in which the Temple of Tirumala--also called Tirupati Balaji Temple and Sri Venkateswara Temple-- is located for which Tirupati is well-known throughout the world.

The Temple of Tirumala is the richest temple in the world and is in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It attracts millions of pilgrims and devotees from all over the world who come here for a darshan of the Lord, Srinivas, also called Balaji (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu).

Sri Venkateswara Temple is located on the foothills of the Tirumala Hills--also called the Seven Hills (the Abode of the Lord Venkateswara). Maybe, that’s why the Lord at Tirupati is also called Edu Kondala Vada (Lord of the Seven Hills).

The thickly wooded Seven Hills located in idyllic surroundings look picturesque and beautiful. A journey from the base to the top of the hill for the darshan of the Lord Balaji turns out to be the experience of a lifetime for the visitors.

Balaji at Tirupati is also called Vaddikasulaswamy (Lord of Interest). Legend has it that the Lord needed much money for his royal marriage. He asked for the same from Kuber--the God of Wealth--who gave the money but on the condition that Balaji would return it back with interest.

Since then, Balaji is believed to be collecting money at the Tirupati Balaji Temple from his devotees who offer money, besides gold and jewellery, to the Lord so that he could pay it back to Kuber whose interest keeps on increasing with the passage of time. No wonder, Tirupati has arguably become the richest pilgrimage city in the world.

The trust that manages the management and maintenance of Sri Venkateswara Temple and the surrounding areas at Tirupati, using the collected money, distributes Laddu Prassadam (sweet balls made with flour grams and ghee) amongst the devotees. Apart for offering money gold and jewellery to Balaji, several devotees also offer their hair to the Lord at the Sri Venkateswara Temple. A separate arrangement for the same takes care of this.

Earlier, for a darshan of the Lord, the devotees and the pilgrims had to stand tirelessly and patiently for many hours in long serpentine lines. Now--thanks to the computerized tokens that are issued to them at the Venkateswara and Padmavati Tirupati Bus Stands at Tirupati--they take rest and visit other nearby places till their number for the darshan at Sri Venkateswara Temple comes. The darshan starts quite early, right from 3 AM in the morning and continues till 12 P.M. in the night.

Near the Balaji Temple is a sacred tank--called the Swamy Pushparani Tank. A bath in this tank is considered very auspicious. So, the pilgrims and devotees take a bath and clean themselves here before they proceed further for the darshan of the Lord. A statue of the Lord Varaha Murthy--the original deity of the place--exists near the tank.

Apart from the chief attraction of Tirupati, the Tirumala Temple, there are some other equally if not more famous temples at Tirupati that include the Padmavati Temple, the Govindraja Swamy Temple, the Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple, and the ISKCON Lord Krishna Temple, among others.

How to reach

The holy city of Tirupati is well connected by rail, road and air. The Renigunta International Airport at Tirupati connects the sacred place to the many international destinations.

When to visit

The best time to visit Tirupati is during the month of September (I visited the place during the same month). During this time, a nine-day festival--known as Brahmotsavam--is held at the place that attracts the visitors from all over the world who throng the place in large numbers to be a part of one of the biggest religious carnivals of the world that the Brahmotsavam is.

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