Important things to know before Tirumala venkateshwaraswamy darshan

Day 3 in Tirupati – Venkateshwaraswamy darshan

Places visited: Swami pushkarini, Varahaswamy temple, Hayagreeevaswamy temple, Tirumala Shri Venkateshwara Swamy temple

Day 3 early morning we have given our hair in the Kalyana Katta (hair offering/hair shaving place) inside Madava nilayam and completed our bath by 6 am. we first went to swami pushkarini . Please don’t wear your footwear while you go nearby temple premises.

The Madavidhis (Streets around the temple,brahmotsavam will be done in this streets) is considered very sacred, and walking with footwear in the madavidhis is considered as Mahapapa (a great sin) so please don’t carry your footwear while going nearby temple.

Tirumala Tirupati tour plan 3 image

Swami Pushkarini, Tirumala Tirupati

Legend/significance: Swami Pushkarini lies within the sacred premises of the main temple. This is the place of the utmost reverence and religious significance. It is believed that Lord Shri Venkateshwara (Balaji) himself bathed in this pond along with Mata Laxmi.  A bath in this holy Pushkarini (temple tank) purifies once body and soul. A dip in this is highly sacred and considered as a custom before entering the temple. Below you can see the image/picture of swami pushkarini, Tirumala

swami puskarini tirumala image

we have taken a dip in swami pushkarini lake and changed our clothes. we got dressed in a traditional way. Please note that there is a dress code in Tirupati. Dress code is applicable for all argitha sevas, VIP pilgrims seeking break darshan of lord Shri Venkateshwara, Pilgrims who go for INR300 and INR 50 darshan.

Dress code for men in tirumala tirupati

For men, the dress code is dhoti or pyjamas with upper cloth

Dress code for Women in Tirumala Tirupati

For women, the preferred dress code is saree or half-saree with blouse or churidar with pyjama and upper cloth

Please note that this information might change so please refer TTD official website for the latest information. But  I suggest going in traditional wear for all darshans as we hardly wear traditional wear in daily life. So at least while having darshan of god we have to go in traditional wear. After that, we went to Shri Varaha Swamy temple which is beside Swami Pushkarini

Shri Varahaswamy Temple – Tirumala Tirupati, Andhrapradesh, India

Story/legend/History: The presiding deity in the temple is Shri Bhuvarahaswamy, an incarnation of Lord Shri Mahavishnu in the form of wild boar. Shri Bhuvarahaswamy was residing on the hills when Lord Shri Venkateshwara swami descended onto the earth. Tirumala was originally called Adivaraha kshetram .

As per Brahma Puranam, it is lord Shri Bhuvarahaswamy who granted land to Shri Lord Venkateshwara Swamy on his request to reside on the sacred 7 hills. As a thanks-giving gesture, Lord Shri Venkateshwara Swamy told that devotees should first have darshan of Shri Bhuvarahaswamy before coming for his darshan and the first naivedhyam will also be offered to Lord Shri Bhuvarahaswamy.

So devotees should first offer their prayers to Shri Bhuvaraha swami before visiting Lord Shri Venkateshwara Swamy.

Shri Varaha Swamy Temple Timings: Every day from 5:30 AM to 12 PM and 5 PM to 9 PM.

we were in the queue line for around 30min and got the darshan of Shri Bhuvarahaswamy. After that, we went to Hayagreeva Swamy temple which is in the same lane. Then we went for the darshan of Lord Shri Venkateshwara Swamy.

Queue line entry will be different for sevas, 300 rupees ticket, 50 rupees ticket, Divya darshan (free darshan for a devotee who comes by walk) and Sarva darshan(free darshan for all). Please check your correct entry point. Please don’t carry any Electronic gadgets with you else you will face problems.

Lord Shri Venkateshwaraswamy Temple, Tirumala

The Lord Venkateshwara Swamy temple is also called kaliyuga Vaikuntam. Venkateshwara means Lord of Venkata. Word Venkata means Destroyer of sins. Venkata is derived from Sanskrit words VEM (sins) & Kata (power of immunity). Meaning of Tirumala is 7 hills(edukondalu) and the actual/old name of this place is Venkatachalam or adivarahakshethram

There are three main reasons for Lord Vishnu to come on to the earth as Lord Venkateshwara.

1. Once Naradha muni visited Lord Vishnu and told that people in kali yuga will have less life span and because of influence of kalipurusha they will be not able to perform great yagas and penance, they will be busy in worldly pleasures. So Narada Muni requested Lord Vishnu to help them. Then lord Vishnu told to Narada Muni that ” I will be taking an avatar as Venkateshwara in Kaliyuga to bless the devotees who visit me and offer their Thalanilalu (hair on the head)” (this why devotees offer head hair to god in Tirumala)                                                   
2. During DwaparaYuga Yashoda Mata was not able to see the marriage of Lord Shri Krishna with Rukmini Mata. So once she expressed her grief to Lord Krishna. Then Lord Shri Krishna gave a boon to her that in her next life she will perform the marriage of Lord Venkateshwara with Padmavathi.
3. Boon to Vedavati. During Trethayuga there was a Brahmarshi Kushadwaja who was a great devotee of Mata Laxmi. Pleased by his devotion Mata Laxmi taken an avatar as his daughter. He named her Vedavati. In the meantime, she became a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Once when she is doing penance, Ravan has seen her and tried to touch her by force. When he has caught her hair, she has cut her hair and entered into the fire to sacrifice herself. Before entering the fire she cursed Ravan that she will again take birth and will become a reason for his death. In her next life, she was born as Maya Sita and brought up by God Agni. As per some Puranas it is said that when Ravan tried to take Sita Mata God Agni has replaced Sita with Maya Sita. So Maya Sita stayed in Lanka instead of Sita Mata. After the death of Ravan when Rama asked Sita Mata for Agni pariksha God Agni replaced the actual Sita with Maya Sita. Since Maya Sita (Vedavati) suffered a lot, God Agni requested Rama to marry her. But Rama told him that he can’t marry her in this life, but promised that in kali yuga when he will come as Venkateshwara he will marry Vedavati who will be reborn as Padmavathi.

So to make these 3 boons come true Lord Vishnu came to earth as Lord Venkateshwara. Below you can see the images of Shri Venkateshwara Swamy temple

shri venkateshwara swamy temple tirumala tirupati image

Lord venkateshwaraswamy temple gopuramTirumala_Tirupati image

We have entered the Divyadharshan queue line as we have come by stairs. As per the latest TTD rules, Divyadharshans might not be available all the days please check TTD official site for more & the latest information. we entered the waiting hall in an hour I guess.TTD officials have given laddu tickets/coupons in the waiting hall.

In the waiting hall, we waited for around 5 hours. In the waiting hall(queue complex) we had only 2 options either to see the TTD channel which will be played on the screen. Note that you can only see the screen but can’t hear the audio. The second option is to look at the people. Then I thought that if I had brought Govindanamas I would have read them. Then I tried to remember some Govindanamas(govindanamalu) and started repeating them.

If you are going to Tirupati please take a print of Govindanamas in one piece of paper and carry it with you so that you can spend your time in the hall by reciting them. Please note that reciting them sitting in Tirumala temple(mandir) premises that too very close to Lord Venkateshwara is not a small thing. So please do this when you are going for darshan. If you see from this point of view the more time it takes for darshan the luckier you are, as you can recite the Govindanamas more no. of times. Please find the link to Govindanamas

After getting out of the waiting hall it has taken around 1.15 hours to get the darshan of Lord Shri Venkateshwara. You will be able to see the lord for only a few seconds but after having that few seconds of Darshan you will really feel blessed and you will feel the divine presence. After having the darshan of Lord Venkateshwara you can have the darshan of Vimaana Venkateshwara Swamy on the temple Gopuram ( will be highlighted in silver).

Seeing Vimana Venkateshwaraswamy will be considered as equal to the main darshan. Then you can have a darshan of Vakula Mata and Yoga Narasimha Swamy and other gods. Then you can give your offerings/donations in the Hundi. While leaving you will get prasad(small laddu). While leaving look at the Gopuram once again and ask Lord to give darshan once again.

After darshan, we came out and went to the laddu counter to take laddus. By the time we have taken laddus, it was around 6 pm. Then we went to the Nadaneerajanam stage which is in front of the main temple. Every day there will be a cultural dance, music which will be started at around 6.30 pm. Please don’t miss this program.

In that pleasant sayamsandhya time listening to god bhajans by sitting in front of the temple is an awesome experience. After the completion of the program, we have started back to madhavanilayam. Actually, we were supposed to visit the Bedi Anjaneya Swamy temple which is exactly opposite to Lord Venkateshwara Swamy temple. But since we felt tired we shifted this darshan for the next day. with this, we have completed our 3rd day in Tirumala Tirupati

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