TIRUPATI: Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams that manages the hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala here today said it expected to fetch an overall revenue of about Rs 2,894 crore for the fiscal, a top TTD official said.

Of the total revenue, the cash offering in the temple hundi (offering box) by devotees was projected at Rs 1,156 crore, TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal told reporters today.

The sale of various worship tickets including rituals and special entry tickets could get about Rs 303 crore while the much sought after sacred laddu prasadam sale might earn about Rs 180 crore.

The revenue from the TTD accommodations allotted to devotees was estimated to be around Rs.110 crore, he said.

The auction sale of human hair to be offered by lakhs of devotees as fulfilment of vow before offering worship at the hill temple was guesstimated to be around Rs.125 crore, Singhal said.

On the payment side, the official said the salaries and other wages to the over 7000 TTD staff might touch about Rs. 600 crore while the expenses for the out-sourcing personnel could cost about Rs.214 crore.

A rhyming couplet of poems called “Dwipada” written by  Tallapaka Chinnanna, grandson of Annamacharya, enabled us to learn about the Saint Annamacharya, his life and works. Annamacharya was born on Vaisakhapoornima in the year Sarwadhari  (May 9, 1408) in Tallapaka, a remote village in Andhra Pradesh, and lived immaculately for  95 years until Phalguna Bahula Dwadasi (12th day after full moon) in the year Dhundhubhi (February 23, 1503). Annamacharya is believed to be the incarnation of Lord Venkateswara’s Nandaka or Sword. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) have consecrated Annamacharya in two places, one in the Annamacharya Mandiram located in the Annamacharya Project Office premises at Tiruapati and the other one in Annamacharya temple at Tallapka the birth place of Annamcharya. The evidences supporting the fact that Annamacharya is the incarnation of the Lord are found in Chinnanna’s Dwipada.

It is believed that in the 10th century a big famine broke out in Varanasi and scores of scholars migrated to southern part of India for earning their livelihoods. Some of them concentrated in a town called “Nandavaram” in Andhra Pradesh which was ruled by the then king Nanda. These immigrants were called “Nandavarikas” and Annamacharyas forefathers were the so called Nandavarikas and hence Annamacharya.

In the Dwipada the story of Annamacharya goes back three generations to his grandfather Narayanayya. As a boy Narayanayya was not keen in studies and it was customary in those times for the gurus to subject the students to different kinds of torturous methods to create concentration on studies. When nothing worked for the young boy, he decided that death would be better than the life filled with torture, humiliation, and shame. He heard about the venomous cobra in the snake hole at the temple of Chinthalamma the village Goddess. In an attempt to take his life away, Narayanayya put his hand in the snake hole at the temple. To his surprise, the village Goddess appeared before him and advised him not to take his life away since a boy with an element of Hari or Vishnu would be born in the third generation of Narayanayya.  

arayana Suri, the son of Narayanayya, did not have children for a long time. Narayana Suri and his wife Lakkamamba visited Tirumala Temple and while they were prostrating in front of the Holy Mast (Dhwaja Sthambha) a dazzling brilliance from the sword of Lord Venkateswara struck them like a lightening. Eventually a boy was born to them and they named him Annamayya. Annamayya became Annamacharya when the sage Ghana Vishnu at Tirumala converted him into a Vaishnavaite at the age of 8.

During his long and prolific career, Annamacharya composed and sang 32,000 Sankirtanas, 12 Satakas (sets of hundred verses), Ramayana in the form of Dwipada,SsankIrtana Lakshanam (Characteristics of sankIrtanas), Sringaara Manjari,  and Venkatachala Mahatmamyam. His works were in Telugu, Sanskrit and a few other languages of India.

Chinnanna called the 32,000 Sankirtanas as 32,000 Mantras or Sacred Hymns. It was also recorded in Chinnanna’s Dwipada that Purandara Dasa, who was 70 years younger to Annamacharya, heard about the miracles of Annamacharya and visited him. Purandara Dasa paid his respects to Annamacharya by calling him the incarnation of Lord Venkateswara and his Sankirtanas as Sacred Hymns. 

Myself, Swaminathan and Oracle Team we started at bangalore on 13th June, 2008 reached Tirupathi by about 12.30 am on 14th June, 2008. we had dinner next to the bus stand and took a jeep till alipiri, the starting point to climb up the hill. this is complete photos while climbing up the hill.

Sripuram Golden Temple

A Mahalakshmi temple called 'Sripuram' and made of more than a tonne of pure gold will glitter and gleam under the sun on August 24 when it is unveiled for consecration by the Sri Narayani Peetam headed by a 31-year-old godman who calls himself Narayani Amma. Devotees hail the temple as 'one of the wonders of the world' and say that it is the only temple covered fully with gold.

More than 400 gold and coppersmiths from the Thirupath Thirumala Devasthanam are said to have worked for six years to craft the Rs 600-crore gold temple located on 55,000 sq ft of land on a 100-acre salubrious stretch in Malaikodi, about 6 km from Vellore in north Tamil Nadu. According to official sources, the gold bars were purchased through RBI in "a transparent manner."

First the coppersmiths set to work creating a copper base on the temple structure with engravings and etchings before the gold, beaten into nine layers of foils, was draped around it. The sanctum sanctorum will hold the deity of Mahalakshmi made of stone granite, but covered with gold kavacham (adornments).

"The Sripuram or Spiritual Park is Amma's dedication to the world and mankind," said P Murali, a trustee of the Peetam, adding that the temple has more gold than the Golden Temple of Amritsar.

Messages by 'Amma' have been laid out along the path to the temple with messages from the Gita, Bible and Quran. "When one enters the Sripuram, their focus is just on the magnificent temple. But when they leave, they cannot do so without taking some messages and gaining some wisdom," according to a booklet detailing the 'services' rendered by the Peetam. "In this quagmire of materialism, Sripuram rises as an inspiration to man to find the divinity within him," adds a brochure.

Murali said arrangements were being made to hire personnel to throw a security cover around the temple. "But the gold sheets have been laid out in such a manner that it would cost more to rip it off than purchase the gold," said a top Vellore district official.

LOCATION

Sripuram is located at Thirumalaikodi in Vellore.

For further information you can dial these numbers:

From outside India

Ground travel arrangements to Peedam can be made by emailing in advance to the appropriate contact mentioned above; all you need to do is arrange for your flight to the Chennai Airport. The contact will arrange with the administration at Peedam for travelers to be picked up at the Chennai Airport and transported to the Peedam. It takes about 3 hours to get to Peedam.

For those who are not comfortable with night driving, arrangements can be made to stay overnight at the Radisson Hotel in Chennai at your own expense. Arrangements will be made to have you picked up the next day from the Radisson and taken to the Peedam. Road transportation to the Peedam costs about 2000/-Indian Rupees.

From Within India

By Car: Drive to the town of Vellore and take the road in the direction of Usoor to Sri Narayani Peedam.

Tirumala by Walk 

We 3 i.e. Bhaktavatsalam, Swaminathan & Rajmohan decided to climb up the hill on April 13th at 12.50 A.m and reached up the hill at 5.30 A.m , these are the photos we took by mobile camera while climbing up the hill, the last snap is next to the chariot we saw an elephant and beautiful rangoli.

For those of you who would like to climb the hills to Tirumala to fulfil a vow, there are two well-laid stone footpaths leading to Tirumala. These paths are called "Sopanamargas" (stairways).

The more ancient of the two Sopanamargas starts from Alipiri at the foot of the hills, is about 11-km in length, and is the commonly used route. The other Sopanamargas is from Chandragiri, though only about 6-km in length, it's a difficult route and is mainly used by the local people and traders. TTD also provides several facilities for the pilgrims who walk up the hills to Tirumala.

FACILITIES FOR PILGRIMS TTD or Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam manages the affairs of the temple, the well-being of the pilgrims, the upkeep of the environs in and around the Tirumala hills and sponsors several undertakings that are religious, charitable, social and educational in nature.

The TTD provides ample conveyance and halting facilities to thousands of pilgrims. Many pilgrims climb the hill by walk to fulfil the vow they have taken. Facilities like shelters, drinking waters, toilets, canteens, medical facilities etc are provided for a quick and relaxing walk uphill.

|| Om Namo Venkatesaya ||