Of the divyadesams sung by Azhwaargal, the holy Seven
Hills - Thirumala Thirupathi occupies a
very pre-eminent position. Our Acharyan Emperumanaar (Udayavar,
Ramanujar, Bashyakarar……….) did many service to the Lord here and Udayavar was
instrumental in many of the religious practices being established in
Thirumala.
Devotees
generally have darshan of Ammavaru (Padmavathi Thayar) at Thiruchanoor and Sri
Govindaraja Perumal (Kizh Thirupathi) before ascending the holy hills. This
time our family after worshipping at Alarmelmangapuram, proceeded to Srinivasa
Mangapuram for worshipping Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swami (manifestation of
Thiruvengadamudaiyan Srinivasar). Temple
legend has it that after the celestial marriage with Goddess Padmavathi, Lord
Venkateswara visited the ashram of Agasthya here and stayed here for six
months.
As
everyone would know, thousands daily ascend holy Thirumala through Alipiri –
there is another sacred pathway leading to the temple – ‘Srivari Mettu’ near
Srinivasa Mangapuram, cherished as Sopanamarga, a stone footpath steeped in
history and spiritual significance. This
path is steeper and has lesser amenities but with 2.1 km lon and approx 2388
steps, is considerably shorter than the Alipiri route.
From
Alarmelmangapuram, we will take a right turn towards Tirupathi, but for going
to Srivarimettu / Srinivasa Mangapuram, travel by the side of the bridge on the
road leading to Chittoor / Madanapalle / Chandragiri .. .. .. and on our way
near Peruru, saw a glittering
temple atop a hillock, (we have not had darshan here thus far)
Peruru (పేరూరు) is a
small village in Tirupati (rural) in Chittoor Dist in Rayalaseema region of
Andhra Pradesh situated at an elevation of 150 M above sea level. Its Telephone Code / Std Code is : 0877 - Pin
Code : 517505; Post Office Name : Perumallapalle - on way to Chandragiri.
Chandragiri
is a suburb and outgrowth, a part of
Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati. Chandragiri is the southwestern entrance of
Tirupati for vehicles coming from Bangalore, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. There is a famous historical fort at
Chandragiri. The fort, with its rectangular bastions and
steep moat, was built during the reign of Immadi Narasimha Yadavaraya (1000
AD), who ruled from Narayanavanam. It is associated with the Vijayanagara
Emperors. Kapilendra Deva captured it in 1460 CE.
Chandragiri
was under the Vijayanagara empire for about three centuries and came under the
control of the Vijayanagara emperors in 1367. It became prominent in the 1560s
in the reign of Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya. Later the Vijayanagara emperor
Krishnadevaraya stayed they're before his coronation at Penukonda. It is also
said that he met his future queen Chinna Devi at this fort. Chandragiri was the
4th capital of Vijayanagara Empire, The capital moved there when the Golconda
sultans attacked Penukonda.
There are
many legends derived from Venkatachala
Mahatmya and the Varaha Purana, detailing the manifestation of the Lord
Srinivasa at Tirumala. According to the
Varaha Purana, Adi Varaha first manifested
on the western bank of the Swami Pushkarini (Koneru, the temple tank),
while Sriman Narayana in the form of
Venkateswara came in to reside on the southern bank of the Swami Pushkarini.
During
the Dwaparayuga, in a duel - Vayudeva
(the Wind God) and Adi Sesha came to terms.
Adisesha encircled the Ananda
hill, an off-shoot of the Meru Mountain on its northern side, while Vayudeva
blew hard to dislodge the Ananda hill
from Adisesha's strangle hold. The contest waxed furiously, and as the World
trembled, Brahma, Indra and the other deities prevailed upon Adisesha to yield
victory to Vayudeva for the welfare of the world, as a whole. Obliging them,
Adisesha released his hold on the hill, with the result, Adisesha and the
Ananda hill were together blown away to the banks of the river Swarnamukhi. As
Adisesha was crestfallen over his defeat, Lord Brahma and the others appeased
him by saying that he would be integrated with the hill Venkatadri and would
become the abode of Sriman Narayana. Adisesha then metamorphosed into the vast
Seshadri hill range, while his hood manifested itself into Venkatadri, the
abode of Lord Sri Venkateswara, his trunk portion turned out to be Ahobila
supporting Lord Narasimha and his tail housing Srisailam bearing Lord
Mallikarjuna.
In His
innumerable vibutis leading to many avatars, Sriman Narayana, took an ant-hill
on Venkatadri under a tamarind tree as a dwelling place, besides a Pushkarini. The Chola king sent the cow and its calf to
graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of other cattle, was to discover
that the holy cow everyday emptied her udder into the ant-hill and thus fed the
Lord. In
course of time, the King was reborn as Akhasa Raja – in pursuit of child
conducted yagna, and as he ploughing the fields, he found a baby in a lotus
flower and named her Alarmel mangai (Lady born in Lotus petals) and adopted her
as his daughter. Sriman Narayana reincarnated as Srinivasa (after penance in
the ant-hill) as the son of an elderly woman-saint Vakula Malika Devi. Vakula
Devi was Yasoda in her previous birth, Lord Krishna's foster-mother and was
unhappy in that life for not seeing his marriage. As per the boon received from
Krishna, she was reborn as Vagula Devi and enjoyed the rare spectacle of
witnessing the celestial wedding of the divine couple.
Vakula
devi left her hermitage to approach Akasa Raja with the marriage proposal of
marriage between Lord Srinivasa and Padmavathi. In the mean time, an anxious
Lord Srinivasa came to the city in the disguise of a lady fortune-teller. The
overjoyed king gleefully agreed and his advisor Bhrihaspati wrote the
invitation for the wedding between the two celestial beings of Srinivasa and
Padmavathi. A very grand celestial
wedding matching His stature of the Supreme Lord of the Universe occurred.
We also
worship Vagula Malika aka Vakula Devi in the square platform inside the sanctum
of Srivari Temple at Holy Thirumala – as Madapalli Nachiyar. At Peruru, on way to Chandragiri, is a
beautiful temple dedicated to Vakula Matha. The Sri Vakulamatha
Temple in Tirupati is located on a
hillock in Peruru, about 8 km from the city. The temple is strategically built
so that the goddess's face is directed towards the Tirumala hills, where her
son resides, and it is considered a customary practice to visit this temple
before the main Tirumala temple. The temple was recently renovated, and its
administration is managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). The temple has a small, three-tiered gopuram
which has been gold-plated. There are also resting spots, a sacred tank
(pushkarani), and a kitchen that serves prasadam to visitors.
It is
stated that this temple is not new but is an ancient one, renovated in recent
times by TTD. This place too suffered
the wrath of invaders Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan who invaded Chandragiri and
plundered places.
Vyāsatīrtha
(c. 1460 – c. 1539) also called Vyasaraja or Chandrikacharya, a great philosopher,
scholar, polemicist, commentator and poet belonging to the Madhwacharya's
Dvaita order of Vedanta lived here. He
was the Rajaguru of Vijayanagara Empire to King Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya and
in the court of Narasimha Raya II, during golden age in Dvaita which saw new
developments in dialectical thought, growth of the Haridasa literature under
bards like Purandara Dasa and Kanaka Dasa and an increased spread of Dvaita
across the subcontinent. He himself composed many kīrtanas in Kannada and
Sanskrit.
Chandragiri
was also the site of the pact granting lands for Fort St. George to the British
was signed by Vijayanagara King Sriranga Raya during August 1639.
The
first two photos were taken by me from the main road – rest photos taken from
the FB page of the temple. A trip to Thirumala is complete only with
darshan of Adhi Varaha swami at Koneri, Alarmelmangapuram and Kizh Thirupathi –
then there are more places – Srinivasa Mangapuram and more. I have not had darshan at this Vagula Matha
temple thus far and pray Emperuman to have darshan here sooner.
adiyen
Srinivasa dhasan
Mamandur
Veeravalli Srinivasan Sampathkumar
15.11.2025
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