THE GREAT TIRUPATI.....

Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh

Tirupati is a major pilgrimage and cultural city in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. It is located at the foot hills of the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh, at a distance of 349 kilometres (217 mi) from Vijayawada, 150 kilometers (93 mi) from Chennai, 250 kilometers (160 mi) from Bengaluru and 550 kilometres (340 mi) from Hyderabad. It is one of the richest pilgrimage cities of any religious faith in the world.

    

   Tirupati is famous for Venkateswara Swamy temple dedicated to God Venkateswara, located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north west of Tirupati in the Tirumala hills at an elevation of 853 metres (2,799 ft). One of the most important pilgrimage centers in the world, the temple draws millions of pilgrims and is the busiest pilgrimage center in the world.^[4] It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received and wealth, and the most-visited place of worship in the world. The temple is visited by about 100,000 to 200,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, Weekends, Holidays, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 10,000,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world.Tirupati has several temples and is a major economical and educational hub in the southern region of the state.

History

• There is no clear history on the origin of the temple of Lord Venkateshwara, but it was maintained and upgraded by various kingdoms. These include the Pallava Kingdom around 9th Century AD, Chola Kingdom around 10th century AD and the latest one being Vijayanagara Empire around 14th to 15th century AD. It was during the rule ofVijayanagara Empire that the temple received increased contributions.
  The site was an established center of Vaishnavism around 5th century A.D. during which it was praised by TamilAlvars (Vaishnava saints). The temple rites were formalized by the Tamil Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya himself, in the 11th century AD. Tirupati survived the Muslim and British invasions. It is believed that during the invasions the deity of Sriranganathar from Srirangam, Tamil Nadu was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping at Ranga Mandapam.
  The Madras legislature passed a special act in 1933 whereby the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) committee was invested with powers of administration and control through a commissioner appointed by the Government of Madras Currently it is headed by Executive officer, an IAS of Andhra Pradesh cadre appointed by Govt of Andhra Pradesh. The current executive officer is Dr.D. Sambasiva Rao.

Transport

• Roadways
  Sri Hari bus station is one of the largest in the state and has direct bus services to nearby towns and major cities across South India. There is a bus terminal atAlipiri for buses to Tirumala. A number of buses are operated by government operator APSRTC and private operators connecting Tirupati to other major cities and towns such as Chennai, Vellore, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Bangalore. Due to its proximity with Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, buses from KSRTC,TNSTC, SETC also operate to Tirupati. Tirupati city, itself has a wide network of well organised roads. A master plan is being implemented to decongest the traffic by widening existing roads, building flyovers under JNNURM scheme. A number of city buses ply in various routes in the city every day. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam runs free buses from Railway station and Central bus stand to Alipiri for the benefit of pilgrims.
  Railways
  Tirupati Main is a major railway station and has 25 platforms and presently undergoing modernization. Tirupati is well connected to major cities across India especially Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Trivandrum and Hyderabad. It is also connected by Chennai sub-urban railways in North-western line. Renigunta Junctionwhich lies on the busy Chennai - Mumbai rail corridor, is 15 km away from Tirupati city. It has another railway station called Tirupati West which currently serves as terminal point for various night trains starting from Tirupati. Other small stations in the city includes CRS railway station, Tiruchanoor Halt, Chandragiri
  Airways
  Tirupati Airport is located 15 km from the city center and has flights to Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, New Delhi and Vijayawada. Additionally the airport offers flights to Coimbatore, Kolkata, Mumbai. The closest international airport is located in Chennai, (Chennai International Airport) which is 130 km (81 mi) from Tirupati.

• Places of interest

  Chandragiri Fort and archaeological museum, Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park SV Zoological park is the Second largest zoo park in Asia.^[13] Regional Science Center and planetarium, Jungle Book near Kapila Theertham are the other attractions. There are many temples in Tirupati and Tirumala. Some of them are the famous Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Alamelu Mangapuram Temple, Padmavathi Ammavari Temple, Govindaraja Swamy Temple, Kapila Theertham (dedicated to Lord Shiva and Parvati), ISKCON etc.