As more than fifty thousand pilgrims
visit the Sri Venkateswara Temple every day, TTD has
organised efficient systems to ensure the smooth movement
of pilgrims.
Vaikuntam
Queue Complex
The entrance for darshan is
through the Vaikuntam Queue Complex. The complex is
a series of inter-connected halls that leads to the
main temple. An efficient queue system ensures that
pilgrims move in an orderly fashion through the Queue
Complex, towards the main temple.
The halls in the Queue Complex are
clean, spacious and airy.TTD provides a wide range of
facilities in the Queue Complex:
- Food is provided for the waiting pilgrims free of cost.
- Milk, Coffe & Tea provided for waiting pilgrims free of cost.
- Medical aid
- Sale of photographs, calendars
and other TTD publications
- Toilets
- Closed Circuit Television, through
which devotional programmes and music are relayed
- Cloak rooms near the Vaikuntam
Queue Complex entrance
- Places where footwear can be
deposited, free of cost (at the entrance)
There are officers to look after
the facilities in the Vaikuntam Queue Complex, regulate
the queues and attend to complaints.
Sarvadarsanam
Sarvadarsanam means
'darshan for all'. The timings for Sarvadarsanam
are different on different days of the week. Please
refer the weekly temple
programme for the timings.
On normal days, about 18 hours are
allotted for Sarvadarsanam and on peak days, it is open
for 20 hours.
Around 50,000 pilgrims visit the
main temple every day.
Special Entry Darshan (Seeghra Darshan)
The
Seeghra Darshanm facility is introduced 0n 21-09-2009 to provide quick
Darshan for the Pilgrims. The cost of the Ticket is Rs.300/- per
pilgrim. The tickets will be issued at VQC-I in a separate queue line
with 4 counters, after taking the tickets, the pilgrims are directly
allowed for Darshan. Seeghra Darshan tickets will be issued on all the
Sarva Darshan timings.
The darshan timings are
the same as that for Sarvadarsanam.
Special Entry Darshan Timings ( Seeghra Darshan )
|
| MONDAY |
7:00 AM TO 5:00 PM |
| TUESDAY |
8:00 AM TO 2:00 PM |
| WEDNESDAY |
9:00 AM TO 2:00 PM |
| THURSDAY |
9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM |
| FRIDAY |
9:30 AM TO 9:00 PM |
| SATURDAY |
7:00 AM TO 9:00 PM |
| SUNDAY |
7:00 AM TO 9:00 PM |
1. Divya Darshan facility is provided for pedestrian who come on foot to Tirumala through Gali Gopuram or Srivari Mettu.
2.
Bio-metric counters are established on these foot paths, to facilitate
free darshan, free accommodation (P.A.C) and free food facilities at
Tirumala.
Sudarshan token System
The Sudarsanam token
system was introduced to minimise the waiting time for
Sarvadarsanam, Special Darshan and other paid darshan/sevas.
Some of its features:
The tokens are available Rs.50/- token at the
1.Second Choultry (behind the Railway Station),
2.Bhudevi Complex,
3. Alipiri Tollgate,
4.Sreenivasam in Tirupati,
5.Srivari Sannidhi, Tirupati,
6. RTC Bus stand in Tirupati,
7.TTD Information centre ,Renigunta (opposite to the Renigunta Railway Station).
The time of darshan is
indicated on the tokens.Pilgrims can enter the Vaikuntam
Queue Complex at Tirumala at the time indicated on
the tokens. . As this system saves on waiting
time, it provides pilgrims with enough time to visit
temples in the vicinity like Sri Govindarajaswami
Temple and Kapila Teertham at Tirupati, Sri Padmavathi
Ammavari Temple at Tiruchanur and Sri Kalyana Venkateswara
Swami Temple at Srinivasa Mangapuram.To
help TTD keep a track of the
number of pilgrims and
ensure their smooth flow, one
token is issued per
head. Collective tokens for groups
are not issued.Sudarshan tokens to
a tune of 5000 perday, Tuesday and Wednesday 2000 perday will be issued
from 05:00am
Some precautions for you to
take:
- Collect your Sudarsanam token
only from TTD-run counters. Tokens issued by others
are not valid.Do not exchange tokens.
- Do not trust touts.
Special Darshan for Physically disabled and Aged
This special darshan is
arranged for the physically disabled and the aged, the infants along with parents through
a separate gate at the Maha Dwaram,the main temple entrance.
If necessary, such pilgrims can be accompanied by an
attendant.
Temple
History
There is ample
literary and epigraphic testimony to the antiquity of
the temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara.
 All the great dynasties of rulers of
the southern peninsula have paid homage to Lord Sri
Venkateswara in this ancient shrine. The Pallavas of
Kancheepuram (9th century AD), the Cholas of Thanjavur
(a century later), the Pandyas of Madurai, and the kings
and chieftains of Vijayanagar (14th - 15th century AD)
were devotees of the Lord and they competed with one
another in endowing the temple with rich offerings and
contributions.
It was during the rule of the Vijayanagar
dynasty that the contributions to the temple increased.
Sri Krishnadevaraya had statues of himself and his consorts
installed at the portals of the temple, and these statues
can be seen to this day. There is also a statue of Venkatapati
Raya in the main temple.
After the decline of the Vijayanagar
dynasty, nobles and chieftains from all parts of the
country continued to pay their homage and offer gifts
to the temple. The Maratha general, Raghoji Bhonsle,
visited the temple and set up a permanent endowment
for the conduct of worship in the temple. He also presented
valuable jewels to the Lord, including a large emerald
which is still preserved in a box named after the General.
Among the later rulers who have endowed large amounts
are the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal.
After the fall of the Hindu kingdoms,
the Muslim rulers of Karnataka and then the Britishers
took over, and many of the temples came under their
supervisory and protective control.
In 1843 AD, the East India Company
divested itself of the direct management of non-Christian
places of worship and native religious institutions.
The administration of the shrine of Sri Venkateswara
and a number of estates were then entrusted to Sri Seva
Dossji of the Hatiramji Mutt at Tirumala, and the temple
remained under the administration of the Mahants for
nearly a century, till 1933 AD.
In 1933, the Madras Legislature
passed a special act, which empowered the Tirumala
Tirupati Devasthanams(TTD) Committee to control
and administer a fixed group of temples in the Tirumala-Tirupati
area, through a Commissioner appointed by the Government
of Madras.
In 1951, the Act of 1933 was replaced
by an enactment whereby the administration of TTD was
entrusted to a Board of Trustees, and an Executive Officer
was appointed by the Government .
The provisions of the Act of 1951
were retained by Charitable and Religious Endowments
Act, 1966.
| Accommodation |
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| TTD
ensures that comfortable accommodation is provided to
pilgrims at a reasonable cost. It has constructed over
5000 cottages, guest houses and choultries both
at Tirupati and Tirumala.
TTD provides accommodation free
of cost to pilgrims who cannot afford to pay for their
stay in Tirupati and Tirumala. Further, to ease the
demand for accommodation, TTD has built Public Amenities
Complexes at both Tirupati and Tirumala, which provide
dormitory-type accommodation with lockers, free of cost.
| Temple
Legends |
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 Sri
Venkatachala Mahatmya is referred to in several Puranas,
of which the most important are the Varaha Purana and
the Bhavishyottara Purana.
The printed work contains extracts
from the Varaha Purana, Padma Purana, Garuda Purana,
Brahmanda Purana, Markandeya Purana, Harivamsa, Vamana
Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmottara Purana, Aditya Purana,
Skanda Purana and Bhavishyottara Purana. Most of these
extracts describe the sanctity and antiquity of the
hills around Tirumala and the numerous teerthams situated
on them.
The legends taken from the Venkatachala
Mahatmya and the Varaha Purana, pertaining to the manifestation
of the Lord at Tirumala, are of particular interest.
According
to the Varaha Purana, Adi Varaha manifested Himself
on the western bank of the Swami Pushkarini, while Vishnu
in the form of Venkateswara came to reside on the southern
bank of the Swami Pushkarini.
One day, Rangadasa, a staunch devotee
of Vishnu, in the course of his pilgrimage, joined Vaikhanasa
Gopinatha, who was going up the Tirumala Hill for the
daily worship of Lord Venkateswara. After bathing in
the Swami Pushkarini, he beheld the lotus-eyed and blue-bodied
Vishnu beneath a tamarind tree. Vishnu was exposed to
the sun, wind and rain and was only protected by the
extended wings of Garuda.
Rangadasa was astounded by the wonderful
sight. He raised a rough wall of stones around the deity,
and started supplying flowers faithfully to Gopinatha
everyday for Vishnu's worship.
One day, Rangadasa was distracted
by a Gandharva king and his ladies. Consequently, he
forgot to supply flowers to Gopinatha for Vishnu's worship.
The Lord then revealed Himself and told Rangadasa that
He had been testing the latter's continence, but Rangadasa
had not been steadfast and had succumbed to temptation.
However, the Lord accepted and appreciated
Rangadasa's devoted service to Him till then, and blessed
Rangadasa that he would be reborn as an affluent ruler
of a province and would enjoy the earthly pleasures.
He would continue to serve the Lord, construct a beautiful
temple with a vimana and high surrounding walls,
and thereby earn eternal glory.
Rangadasa was reborn as Tondaman,
the son of the royal couple, Suvira and Nandini. Tondaman
enjoyed a pleasurable life as a young man. One day,
he set out on a hunting expedition on the Tirumala Hill,
and with the help of a forester, saw Vishnu under the
tamarind tree. Tondaman returned home, deeply affected
by the vision of Vishnu.
Tondaman later inherited his father's
kingdom, Tondamandalam. In accordance with the directions
given by Adi Varaha to a forester, Tondaman constructed
a prakaram and dvara gopura, and arranged
for regular worship of the Lord (according to Vaikhanasa
Agama).
In the Kali Yuga, Akasaraja came
to rule over Tondamandalam. His daughter Padmavathi
was married to Venkateswara. The marriage, officiated
by Brahma, was celebrated with great pomp and splendour.
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| TTD
ensures that comfortable accommodation is provided to
pilgrims at a reasonable cost. It has constructed over
5000 cottages, guest houses and choultries both
at Tirupati and Tirumala.
TTD provides accommodation free
of cost to pilgrims who cannot afford to pay for their
stay in Tirupati and Tirumala. Further, to ease the
demand for accommodation, TTD has built Public Amenities
Complexes at both Tirupati and Tirumala, which provide
dormitory-type accommodation with lockers, free of cost.
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