Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati by Painter Babu Rishabh

July 18, 2017

Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati by Painter Babu Rishabh

Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati is a famous Hindu deity. Every year millions of people throng to the hills of Tirumala to seek blessings of the Lord. It is believed that Lord Venkateshwara resides at Tirumala with His consort Padmavathi. Lord Venkateshwara is also known by the name of Balaji, Srinivasa and Govinda. Lord Venkateshwara is believed to be one of the richest deities of India. The myth about the riches of the Tirumala God says that Lord Srinivasa is still repaying the debt of His marriage to Goddess Padmavathi which He had taken from Kuber, from the donations made by devotees.

Lord Venkateshwara is deemed as a very powerful deity. It is said that the Lord fulfills all the wishes of an individual if the devotee asks with a true heart and strong determination. Many people ask for wishes to the Lord and then offer their hair at the temple when the wish is fulfilled. Though most of us are familiar with the God of Tirumala, not many of us know the story behind His divine descent on Earth. So, let us take a look at the story of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati.

Mahalakshmi Leaves Vaikuntha

Once Sage Bhrigu, who was believed to be born with an extra eye in his foot, went around the Universe seeking true knowledge. First, he approached Lord Brahma. But Lord Brahma was so engrossed in chanting the name of Vishnu that He did not notice sage Bhrigu. Enraged at this behaviour, sage Bhrigu cursed Brahma that nobody will ever worship Him on earth.Then the sage went to Lord Shiva. At that time Shiva was engrossed in talking to Goddess Parvati and failed to notice the sage. So, the sage cursed the Lord that He would be worshipped only as stones (linga). After that sage Bhrigu went to Lord Vishnu, who also did not notice him. Enraged at this, the sage kicked Lord Vishnu at His chest. It is believed that Goddess Mahalakshmi resides in Lord Vishnu's chest. In an attempt to calm down the sage, Lord Vishnu held the sage's legs and started pressing them gently. While doing this, the Lord squeezed out the extra eye of the sage from his foot which brought an end to the sage's ego. The sage apologised for his mistake. However, Goddess Mahalakshmi was extremely disappointed with Lord Vishnu on His act of apologising to the sage. She became very angry, left Vaikuntha and descended on Earth.

The forlorn Lord Vishnu also came to Earth to look for the Goddess and took refuge in an ant hill under a tamarind tree near Venkata Hill. The Lord gave up food and sleep and started meditating for the Goddess to return.

Srinivasa & Padmavathi

Seeing the pain of Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Shiva took the form of a cow and calf. The king of the Chola country bought them and sent them grazing on the fields of the Venkata hill. On discovering Lord Vishnu on the ant hill, the cow fed Him with milk. The Queen at the palace became very angry as the cow was not able to produce milk. So, she asked the cow herder to keep a watch on the cow. The cow herder found that the cow was spilling all its milk on an anthill. Angered by the cow, the cow herder attempted to kill it with his axe. Then, Lord Vishnu appeared out of the ant hill and took the blow. On seeing Lord Vishnu covered with blood, the cow herder fell down and died of shock. After that the king came rushing to the spot and found the cow herder dead. Then Lord Vishnu appeared out of the ant hill and cursed the King to be born as an asura for the conduct of his servant. The King apologised to the Lord and asked for mercy. Then the Lord blessed him with a boon that he will be born as Akasa Raja and give his daughter Padmavathi in marriage to Lord Vishnu. Thus, Lord Vishnu took the form of Srinivasa and started residing in the Varaha Ksetra. Many years later a king named Akasa Raja came to riule the region and he had a lovely daughter named Padmavathi. Once Srinivasa saw Padmavathi while chasing a herd of elephants. Since then both fell in love. When Akasa Raja found out about this, he consulted all the priests and decided to give Padmavathi in marriage to Srinivasa. Lord Srinivasa borrowed money from Kuber to finance His marriage. Thus, Lord Srinivasa and Goddess Padmavathi tied the divine and eternal knot. Goddess Lakshmi once again re-united with Lord Vishnu and stayed in His heart forever. This is the reason why most people want to get married at the Tirumala temple in the presence of Lord Venkateshwara and Goddess Padmavathi. It is believed that such a marriage stretched till eternity and the couple stay happily ever after.