SRIVENKATACHLA ITIHASAMALA
The Garland of Historical Tales of the Hill of
Venkata (Tirupati)
INTRODUCTION
This is a work which professes to be a historical account
of the various arrangements that were made from time to
time for the conduct of worship in the temple on the hill at
Vengadam. It is not a regular history of the temple in the
sense that it gives an account of the temple from its origin
down to the time of writing of this account, but is more or less
a record of .certain important incidents in its history. The
whole -account consists of seven chapters Jelling with the
topics connected with the contesting claims of Saivas and
Vaishnavas to the temple, the settlement arrived at as a result
of the discussion between the contesting claimants, the
arrangements ordered in consequence thereof by the
Vaishnava teacher Ramanuja through the local ruler Yadava
Raja. This is followed by the further arrangements that were
called for and made subsequent to this, but all of them more
or less during the life and under the commands of Ramanuja,
It may therefore be taken to be an account of what was done
to the temple by Ramanuja and does not purport to give th&
history of the shrine either in the period previous to Rama-
nuja regarding which some allusions could *be found here and
there, and naturally nothing for the subsequent period. The
work therefore deals as it were with one particular period of
its history, which is comprised perhaps in the century after
Christ, 1050 to 1150,
2 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
First Stabaka
Our Lord God residing in immeasurable happiness in
Vaikuntham, the Lord of the Goddess Sri and surrounded
by those who had obtained eternal release, in his infinite
mercy decided to come down upon earth in order to save
those struggling in the sea of life without knowing how to get
out of it. He regarded it as his mission to come on to the earth
in a visible form to provide the means of saving themselves for
those struggling in great suffering in worldly life. He there-
fore assumed the form of an image at Tirupati, and placed
himself there as the saviour of mankind. His right hand is hold
in a position inviting all beings to come to him as the highest
protector,, and the left placed on the corresponding thigh in
such a position as if to indicate that, to those devoted to
him, the sea of life (samsara) is only knee deep. This gives
indication to the people that to those who devote themselves
to the worship of God manifesting Himself in Tirupati, worldly
life need have none of the fears generally associated with it.
That he came to the earth on this merciful mission is a fact
known to all.
In the second section of the current Brahmakalpa (the
age of Brahma), in the second section in the ruling period of
the 7th Manu and at the cormurr) cement of the age of the 8th
Mahakali, there was a large assemblage of Hishis and others
r&Ta great sacrifice that was celebrated in the forest of Naimisa,
In that assembly the great Suta well versed in all the Puranas
arxd the Itihasas related the holy history of the hill Venga^am
and all that was likely to happen after that time.
Among these future occurrences is the story of a
Tonclaman Chakravarti who was going to be "born after the
commencement of the era of Vikrama, and before the com-
mencement of the current Salivahana era. He was, among
those devoted to the God at Vengadam, the most prominent.
In order that the devotee of Venkatesvara might become
victorious over his enemies, the God gave him his own
conch and the discus. From that time onwards the God at
Tirupati remained without these two characteristic weapons,
as if to exhibit his great generosity to thi& devotee of
INTRODUCTION 3
During this period the world was suffering from the
evils of the Kali age, and people went about without any
regard to the regulations of Varndsrama (the differences of
groups and the progressive order of life constituting the essen-
tial feature of the Hindu Dharma or rule of life) . The ruling
princes adopted other religious persuasions. Temples were
neglected and even destroyed, and there was loss of Dharma
the world over. Large numbers of people became Pdshandis
(ascetics of the heretical sects).
Having seen these, God in his infinite mercy ordered
Ananta Alvan (the great serpant Sesha who forms his bed
generally) , to go into the world and re-establish the orthodox
Hindu order by destroying heretics.
Ananta in due submission to the order thus delivered,
came down on earth and was born in Bhutapuri (Sri Perum
Pudur) near Madras in the Tondamandalam division of the
Tamil country as the son of a Kesava Somayaji of the Harita
Gdtra in the year of Kali 4118, Salivahana Saka 938 past, the
year Pingala, month Chaitra and the nakshatra Ardra,
This was Ramanuja. He acquired expert acknowledge
in all the Sastras in course of time and mastered the Veda of
Sanskrit and Tamil completely, and, having defeated all the
teachers of the heretical sects, he re-established the orthodox
teaching of Vaishnavism and had settled down in the holiest
of the holy Vaishnava temples, Srlrangam.
In this state of -affairs it happened that in Vengadam
the Vaikhanasas (followers of the Vaikhanasa agama) who
were entrusted with the conduct of the worship in the temple
there, failed in their duty, and, having been punished by the
local ruler, Yadavaraja of Narayanavaram, quitted the place
and emigrated elsewhere.
While in this manner the more elderly Vaikhanasa
Vaishnavas had left the place, and as there were not, among
those that stayed behind, people sufficiently learned in the
Vaikhanasa way of life (Dharma), some of the Saivas near
about took the opportunity to prejudice the Yadava Raja
,P e Jaiwef the Vaikhanasa Vaishitavas gradually*
INTRODUCTION S
Therefore they urged that in this temple everything
would have to be conducted according to the prescription for
worship laid down in the Saiva Agamas.
Having heard this, the Yadavaraja began to ponder
seriously over the matter, and, having known that for some
considerable period of time the place was regarded as a Vaish-
nava holy place and that worship was being conducted by the
Vaishnavas according to the Vaikhdnasa Agama, he thought
he should not commit himself to any course of action without
proper investigation, notwithstanding what the Saivas urged.
The Vaishnavas that were left in Tirupati feeling
themselves not competent to discuss with the Saivas on equal
terms gave a detailed report of what took place to Rarnanuja
then in residence in Srirangam.
On receipt of this information Ramanuja set forward
immediately from Srirangam. Having reached Tirupati,
he intimated the Yadavaraja of his arrival and offered
to explain satisfactorily all the objections that the Saivas put
forward against Tirupati being regarded a Vaishnava shrine,
and prove to the satisf action, of the Yadavaraja, on the autho-
rity of the Sastras, that Venkatachala was the hill of Vishnxi,
and remove his doubt in regard to the matter. He informed
the Raja he undertook the journey from Srirangam specially
with a view to this.
Having been thus assured, the Yadavaraja brought
together a great assembly of learned men both from among
the Saivas and from the Vaishnavas, and having brought
them together proposed the subject for their discussion in the
proper form.
The Saivas* stated that Kumarasvami obtained his father's
(Siva's permission and arrived at Venkatagiri (Tirupati)
and set up to perform his penance on the bank of a holy
tank, according to Vamana Parana. There standing, with his
feet touching the ground, on the south bank of the Svami
Pushkarinj wearing a coiffure of matted Igcks and keeping
aside the warlike weapons as unsuitable to an ascetic,
Skanda shows himself in the form of an image to enable
people to offer him worship and thus fulfil their cherished
4 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
THE SAIVA CLAIM
They said that the God who manifested himself in the
temple on the south bank of the tank of Svami Pushkarini was
no other than the worshipful Skanda. They gave as a reason
for this that the name Svdmi is peculiarly applicable to him
as forming part of Kumarasvami which is the acknowledged
name of Subrahmanya. The holy tank near the temple goes
also by his name as belonging to him. There is nothing strange
about it, they urged, as other names are similarly attributed
in use, such as Bhirnasena being generally called Bhmia and
Satyabhama being generally called Bhama.
They quoted for authority the Vamana Purana which
contains a section illustrative of the holiness of Venkatachala.
Skanda is said to have consulted his father in regard to a place
peculiarly holy to Vishnu, for performing a penance and getting
rid of the sin of killing the Asura Taraka. The father, &iva,
advised the son to go to Venkatachala as the holiest of the holy
places of Vishnu. Skanda went to Venkatachala and per-
formed his penance on the bank of a tank, according to
Vamana Purana, part ii. He there found Vayu (god of the
air) also similarly performing penance, and, having paid his
respects to him, he also set up there to do likewise. * Therefore
they urged that the God there ought to be regarded as God
Kumarasvami. Being in the position of one performing a
penance, they said, the God is there exhibited without 'his
extra hands and characteristic weapons,, For the.se and for
many other good reasons they urged the place is really a holy
place of Skanda, -not Vishnu,
m
They pointed out further that for some time past some
Vaishnavas took possession of the place and having there sot
up some of the Vaishnava images which did not exist in the
temple before, took possession of the temple and conducted
worship there as though it were a Vaishnava shrino, thus
making people believe that it was a Vishnu temple ; but in
actual truth that was a gaiva holy place without a doubt owing
to the merits of the penance that Skanda had perforr '
there.
8 SRIWENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
wishes. Therefore they stated that the place where Skanda
performed penance in the hill Vengadam must be regarded
as a aiva holy place.
They further asserted that this image of God can-
not be said to be Vishnu. The weapons characteristic of
Vishnu, such as the conch and the discus were not seen in the
image ; while the matted locks and mlga (serpent) orna-
ments characteristic of other Gods are seen on the image.
Therefore the image cannot be regarded as that of Vishnu.
Ramanuja's Answer : Before God Srmivasa appeared
on this hill, Brahma, Rudra and the other gods besides
several Rishis are stated to have already begun performing
penance there. If so, would it not be madness to state that
one of those performing penance should be singled out as
being exclusively associated with this hill and as giving it
sanctity ? Further than this, in the self-same Vamana Purana,
in chapter 14, Venkataehalam is held up as a very holy place
dedicated to Vishnu, whose temple was on the south bank of
the Svami Pushkarni. In the same Vamana Purana, in seve-
ral other contexts, the place is described as the residence of
Vishnu in the form of Varaha, and in the form of Srinivasa.
It is further stated to be a place fit for the residence of those
devoted to Vishnu. Therefore it is clear that it was regarded
as a place holy to Vishnu and not to any other.
In the same manner, the Varaha Purana states that
Venkatachalam was the temple of Varaha- Va$ tide va in the
colloquy between Dharani (the earth) and Varaha in the
first chapter of the Venkatachala Mahatmya section. There
is an equally clear statement to this effect in the Padma
Purana in chapter 24.1, and in the Garu^a Burana in the
colloquy between Arundati and Vasishta, in chapter* 63. Simi-
larly this hill is stated to be a Vishnu-kshetra in the Brah-
%man$apurana in the colloquy between Bhrigu and Narada.
So also other Purarias make similar statements.
In addition to these clear statements, all the Purarias
state that this hill was the Krlda-parvata, (sporting
hill) in Vaikuntha wherefrom it was brought down by
Garu$a. In consequence, this hill is called the Vaikuntha-
INTRODUCTION 7
giri. Garudachalam and by other similar names. These
would make it clear that the hill was sacred to Vishnu. More
than this Vaidika Brahmans on occasions of the performance
of ceremonies prescribed in the Srutis and Smritis indicate
thi place as Varaha Kshetra. There is not much use in
repeating the statement again and again. Even the Veda
which is acknowledged to have no beginning, speaks of this
hill as a hill holy to Vishnu in the Rig- Veda (Eighth Ashtaka,
eighth chapter and section 13).
On this clear exposition by Ramanuja that the hill
Venkatachala was a hill dedicated to Vishnu, the Yadava
Raja became quite clear in his mind that there was no reason
for regarding the Saiva contention as deserving of any serious
consideration.
Second Stabaka
Rdmdmija : " The Saivas assert that the name Svami
Pushkarini indicates clear association with Kumarasvami."
This name was given to it because Kumarasvami performed
his penance on the bank of this tank. The statement that, for
this reason, the tank belongs to Skanda is not worthy of
acceptance.
The meaning of the term Svami Pushkarini is that this
tank is the lord of al] similar tanks in the world, It is a term
indicative of leadership or excellence. It is so explained in the
Puranas, and the Sanskrit compound is so explained. There-
fore the term Svdmi cannot be held to apply to Kumarasvami
as an abbreviation.
Moreover the term Svami can convey Srlrnan Narayana
as he is the creator, protector and destroyer of all the worlds,
Association with such an unparallelled leader's name might
as well be connoted by the term, if we make the first part of
the compound a word in the genitive case which would not
offend against Sanskrit grammar*
On the bank of that tank thergjwpe^attftv^jpaL^beings engaged
in the performance of penanc^T I^UmJirasvfeij. is just one of
them. The tank therefore c^n^ot-'be^the holy tafciS^of 3pumara.
Among the authorities quoted by my jiyals in \^p^)ort of
** { c: t T"iKLJi~ A t * ;*:
10 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
Garuda from Vaikuntha, it follows that the tank of divine
holiness was also the same God's sporting tank. If so, it cannot
follow that the name Svami Pushkarmi was given to the tank
because of Skanda performing his penance on the bank of this
tank. " Therefore it is clear ", he said, " that you are in no
position to give an effective reply to the arguments adduced
by Ramanuja Muni to establish that there was no manner of
a connection between this tank and any other God, and there-
fore what Ramanuja Muni had actually proved seemed quite
adequate to establish his contention. What remains to be done
therefore is only whether the God represented by the image
on the south bank of the tank is Vishnu or Skanda. Even In
regard to that, I shall ask Ramanuja Muni to state what he
may have to adduce as satisfactory reason/ 1 So .saying he
addressed Ramanuja with much attention and respect.
Yadava Raja : Addressing sage Raman uja, tho Yfulava
Raja said: "It was clearly demonstrated, by what the sa v ue
had already urged as evidence, that the shrine on the south
bank of the Svami Pushkarini was a Vaishnava holy place, and
that the tank itself was a Vaishnava holy tank, He said that
he was prepared to accept that position; but wanted that
Ramanuja should put it beyond a doubt by evidence that the
"deity on the south bank was Mahavishnu, and no other .Lod."
Thus addressed by the Raja, Ramanuja put forward his ari>u
mehtp as follows
Ramanuja : Bespeaking the Raja's attention, Itama-
mrja said " It was well recognised by all that the
deity on the south bank of the tank was Vishnu and no other,
and there was little in it that required to be proved by him.
That the lord on the hill Vonkata was only Madhusudanu
without an equal, and there is not the slightest reason to sus-
pect thaf the deity there is any other god. To say that lie i;,
Skanda is to assert that the light emitted by the fire-fly is sun-
light. Proceeding to evidence, the Purana:* which are accepted
and read as authoritative holy books, all of them declare with-
out a doubt that the deity on the south bank is no other tluw
Narayana, the lord of Sri (goddess Lakshml), In tho first
chapter of the second part of the Varaha Purana God Varaha "
himself is made to say ti*at Srinivasa appeared on the south
INTRODUCTION 7
girl. Garudaehalam and by other similar names. These
would make it clear that the hill was sacred to Vishnu. More
than this Vaidika Brahmans on occasions of the performance
of ceremonies prescribed in the Srutis and Smritis indicate
this place as Varaha Kshetra. There is not much use in
repeating the statement again and again. Even the Veda
which is acknowledged to have no beginning, speaks of this
hill as a hill holy to Vishnu in the Rig- Veda (Eighth Ashtaka,
eighth chapter and section 13) .
On this clear exposition, by Ramanuja that the hill
Venkatachala was a hill dedicated to Vishnu, the Yadava
Raja became quite clear in his mind that there was no reason
for regarding the Saiva contention as deserving of any serious
consideration,
Second Stalbaka
Ramanuja : " The Saivas assert that the name Svami
Pushkarini indicates clear association with Kumar as vami."
This name was given to it because Kumarasvami performed
his penance on the bank of this tank. The statement that, for
TKs^rea15?nSrTRe tank belongs to Skanda is not worthy ,ftJL
acceptance.
The meaning of the term Svami Pushkarini is that this
tank is the lord of all similar tanks in the world. It is a term
indicative of leadership or excellence. It is so explained in the
Puranas, and the Sanskrit compound is so explained. There-
fore, the term Svatnf cannot be held to apply to Kumarasvami
as an abbreviation.
Moreover the term Svami can convey Sriman Narayana
as he is the creator, protector and destroyer of all the worlds.
Association with such an unparallelled leader's name might
as well be connoted by the term, if we make the first part of
the compound a word in the genitive case which would not
offend against Sanskrit grammar.
On the bank of that tank there are several beings engaged
in the performance of penance, Kumaragvami is just one of
them. The tank therefore cannot be the holy tank of Kurnara,
Among the authorities quoted by my rivals in support of
2
10 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
Garuda from Vaikuntha, it follows that the lank of divine
holiness was also the same God's sporting tank. If so, it cannot
follow that the name Svami Pushkarini was given to the tank
because of Skanda performing his penance on the bank of this
tank. " Therefore it is clear ", he said, " that you are in no
position to give an effective reply to the arguments adduced
by Ramanuja Muni to establish that there was no manner of
a connection between this tank and any other God, and there-
fore what Ramanuja Muni had actually proved seemed quite
adequate to establish his contention. What remains to be done
therefore is only whether the God represented by the image
on the south bank of the tank is Vishnu or Skanda, Even in
regard to that, I shall ask Ramanuja Muni to state what he
may have to adduce as satisfactory reason." So saying he
addressed Ramanuja with much attention and respect.
Yadava Raja : Addressing sage Ramanuja, the Yfiduva
Raja said: "It was clearly demonstrated, by what tho s;ie
had already urged as evidence, that the shrine on tho .south
bank of the Svami Pushkarini was a Vaishnava holy pJuco, and
that the tank itself was a Vaishnava holy tank. Ho said thai
lie was prepared to accept that position ; but wanted that
Ramanuja should put it beyond a doubt by evidence that the
deity on the south bank was Mahavishnu, and no other #od."
Thus addressed by the Raja, Ramanuja put forward his argu-
ments as follows
Ramanuja: Bespeaking the Raja's attention, Rama-
nuja said "It was well recognised* by all that -the
deity on the south bank'of the tank was Vishnu and no othtT,
and there was little in it that required to be proved by him.
That the lord on the hill Venkata was only Madhusiidnna
without an equal, and there is not the slightest reason to .sus-
pect that the deity there is any other god. To say thai he is
Skanda is to assert that the light emitted by the* fire-Jfly is sun-
light Proceeding to evidence, the Puranas which are accepted
and read as authoritative holy books, all of them declare* with-
out a doubt that the deity on the south bank is no other than
Narayana, the lord of Sri (goddess Lakshml). In the first
chapter of the second part of the Varaha Purana God Varaha
himself is made to say that Srinivasa appeared on the south
INTRODUCTION 11
bank of the tank to grant the boon prayed for by Vayu (god
of the air) who was in penance for the purpose. He also
stated that Srinivasa was going to remain there to the end of
the kalpa (one of the greater periods of time) and was going
to Be worshipped by Kumarasvami (Skanda or Subrahmanya) .
In the face of the statement, it cannot be argued that the
Srmivasa is Skanda. Further it is stated that Skanda per-
formed a penance in the presence of Srmivasa with a view to
get rid of the evil attaching to him by his killing the Asura
Taraka. How then can Skanda the worshipper be transformed
into Skanda the object of worship. It is not only in this
Purana, but in several of the Puranas describing the great
merits of Venkatachala, it is clearly stated that Siinivasa and
Varaha, both of them forms of. Vishnu, were respectively on
the south and west banks of the holy tank under reference.
More than this the Bhavishyottarapurana recounts a colloquy
which took place between Srmivasa and Varaha. When
Srmivasa married Padmavati, the daughter of Akasa Raja, it
is stated in tfye Puranas that both Varaha and his consort
Bhumi (the goddess of earth) were invited. Thus there
are many stories in the Puranas which state that both Srmi-
vasa and Varaha were separately enshrined on the south and
west banks of the tank. Much more than 1his, as we stated
already in the first stabaka, the term sirlmbidasya used in the
Rig Veda, Eighth Ashtaka, eighth chapter, 13th Varga (sec-
tion) is explained as referring to Srmivasa. The cleity in this
shrine has a single face and four arms, while it is slated that
Skanda at birth had only one head and two hands ; and that
when it came to a question of being nursed by the Pleides
(Krittika) he is- said to have acquired six faces and twelve
hands* Further than this when Skanda resolved to go to
Venkatachala for performing penance, he is said, by the
Saivas, to have given up all his weapons. This is obviously an
error, as others who went on a similar purpose, such as
Raghava (Vishnu as Rama) and the PSnclavas when they went
to perform penaneo carried their weapons with them. The
Vamana Purana in chapters 22 and 23 states clearly that when
Skanda went to perform penance he carried .all his weapons
with him, It is not stated elsewhere in the work that he laid
14 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
acceptable to god Srinivasa. Even in the tiaxtras, bilra
(marmelos) is included among the articles with which pnjct
(worship) is to be performed on an equal footing with tnlasi
(basil). That bilva is acceptable to Lakshmi is staled clearly
in the SrisCikta (prayer addressed to Lakshmi) . The Harlia-
smrti mentions bilva as one of the principal objects of use for
worship. Coming down to evidence, the Varaha Parana, in
part i, chapter 45/13, describes the appeal aiice of Snnivilsa on
Venkatachalam to Dasaratha, and it is slated there thai the
rishis who were living on the south bank of the Svami Push-
karini performing penance worshipped him on occasions with
bilva. In the second part of the same Purana, chapter 9, it is
stated that Mahalakshml generally resides in Burdens whore
bilva is cultivated. Thus it is clear from the statements in the
Sruti, Smrti, Itihasa and Purana that worship with hilrtt is
appropriate to Vishnu.
Vishnu is stated to have allowed his hair to grow into
matted locks in several of his avaiars. The existence of the
matted locks therefore need not be^ held to detract from the
Vaishnava character of the image. In 1he Sri Bhacutvafa,
book ii, chapter 5, in the colloquy between emperor Nhni and
the sage Navaydgisvara, it is laid down clearly that on special
occasions worship may be offered to Vishnu wearing a coifTiuv
of matted locks. Similarly in the 12th chapter of the Pancha-
ratra, the Satvata Samhita, one is advised to contemplate
Vishnu as having a coiffure of matted locks and a board, carry-
ing in his one hand the danda (a stick of })ata&<t or (txrakn
carried by Sanydsis and Brahmacharis) and kamandnttt in an-
other and as wearing a garland of lotus seeds. Similarly
Vishnu is described to have worn matted Jocks in severa"
avataras. It cannot therefore be held that the wearing oj
matted locks is the characteristic of other gods only. More
than this the Skanda Purana in part I, chapter 10, statins thai
rfnivasa wore the matted locks when hi* appeared in V&v
katachala. A similar statement is made in Vamaua Parana
chapter 34/15. "
It is stated in Skanda, VSxnana, Varaha, Padma and othoi
Puranas that, at the request of Brahma and of other Gods
INTRODUCTION 11
bank of the tank to grant the boon prayed for by Vayu (god
of the air) who was in penance for the purpose. He also
stated that Srlnivasa was going to remain there to the end of
the kalpa (one of the greater periods of time) and was going
to Be worshipped by Kumarasvami (Skaiida or Subrahmanya) .
In the face of the statement, it cannot be argued that the
Srlnivasa is Skanda. Further it is stated that Skanda per-
formed a penance in the presence of Srlnivasa with a view to
get rid of the evil attaching to him by his killing the Asura
Taraka. How then can Skanda the worshipper be transformed
into Skanda the object of worship. It is not only in this
Purana, but in several of the Puranas describing the great
merits of Venkatachala, it is clearly stated that Srlnivasa and
Varaha, both of them forms of Vishnu, were respectively on
the south and west banks of the holy tank under reference.
More than this the Bhavishyottarapurarxa recounts a colloquy
which took place between Srlnivasa and Varaha. When
Srlnivasa married Padmavati, the daughter of Akasa Raja, it
is stated in the Puranas that both Varaha and his consort
Bhumi (the goddess of earth) were invited. Thus there
are many stories in. the Puranas which state that both Srlni-
vasa and Varaha were separately enshrined on the south and
west banks of the tank. Much more than this, as we stated
already in the first stabaka, the term sirlmbidasya Used in the
Rig Veda, Eighth Ashtaka, eighth chapter, 13th Varga (sec-
tion) is explained as referring to Srlnivasa. The deity in this
shrine has a single face and four arms, while it is stated that
Skanda at birth had only one head and two hands ; and that
when it came to a question of being nursed by the Pleides
(Krittika) he is said to have acquired six faces and twelve
hands. Further than this when Skanda resolved to go to
Vonkaiachala for performing penance, he is said, by the
Saivas, to have given up all his weapons. This is obviously an
error, as others who went on a similar purpose, such as
Raghava (Vishnu as Rama) and the Pandavas when they went
to perform penance carried their weapons *with them. The
Vamana Parana in chapters 22 and 23 states clearly that when
Skanda wont to perform penance he carried all his weapons
.with him. It is not stated elsewhere in the work that he laid
14 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
acceptable to god Srmivasa. Even In the Saslras, bilva
(marmelos) is included among the articles with which puja
(worship) is to be performed on an equal footing with tulasi
(basil). That bilva is acceptable to Lakshmi is stated clearly
in the Srisukta (prayer addressed to Lakshmi) . The Harita-
smrti mentions bilva as one of the principal objects of use for
worship. Coming down to evidence, the Varaha Parana, in
part i, chapter 45/13, describes the appearance of Srinivasa on
Venkatachalam to Dasaratha, and it is stated there that the
rishis who were living on the south bank of the Svami Push-
karini performing penance worshipped him on occasions with
bilva. In the second part of the same Purana, chapter 9, it is
stated that Mahalakshmi generally resides in gardens where
bilva is cultivated. Thus it is clear from the statements in the
Sruti, Smrti, Itihasa and Purana that worship with biloa is
appropriate to Vishnu.
Vishnu is stated to have allowed his hair to grow into
matted locks in several of his avatars. The existence of the
matted locks therefore need not be held to detract from the
Vaishnava character of the image. In the Sri Bhagavnta,
book ii, chapter 5, in the colloquy between emperor Nimi and
the sage Navayogisvara, it is laid down clearly that on special
occasions worship may be offered to Vishnu wearing a coiffure
of matted locks. Similarly in the 12th chapter of the Pdncha~
rdtra, the Satvata Samhita, one is advised to contemplate
Vishnu as having a coiffure of matted locks and a beard, carry-
ing in his one hand the danda (a stick of paldm or a&vuka
carried by Sanydsis and Brahmacharis) and kamandala in an-
other and as wearing a garland of lotus seeds. Similarly
Vishnu is described to have worn matted locks in several
avataras. It cannot therefore be held that the wearing of
matted locks is the characteristic of other gods only. More
than this the Skanda Purana in part I, chapter 10, states thai
Srinivasa wore the matted locks when he appeared in Ven-
katachala. A similar statement is made in Vamana Parana,
chapter 34/15.
It is stated in Skanda, Vamana, Varaha, Padma and other
Puranas that, at the request of Brahma and of other Gods ?
INTRODUCTION 15
Vishnu suppressed his fearsome form and assumed a more
pleasant looking shape. In the Padma Purana, chapter 26/3,
Vishnu is ' said to have been dressed up in cloth carrying
figures of naga. In chapter 27/4 of the same work he is said
to-be wearing matted locks. In chapter 33/10 a fearsome form
and a pleasant form are both described as forms alike of
Vishnu. In the Bhavishyottara Purana, chapter 11, it is stated
that Akasa Raja presented jewels made in the form of cobras
to Srmivasa on the occasion of his marriage with the Raja's
daughter Padmavati. In the esoteric sections of the Bhavish-
yottara Purana, Srmivasa is said to have worn jewels in the
form of Nagas, where Paramesvara expounds Srlnivasa to
Parvati. The Brahmanda Purana, chapter 2, states that the
great Naga Adisesha serves as all kinds of dress and decorat-
ive ornaments. In Padma Purana, chapter 34/11, Srlnivasa
is said to reside along with Lakshml on the hill which was an
incarnation of Adisesha. In the Brahmanda Purana, in the
chapter containing Venkatesa Sahasranama, Vishnu is stated
to have matted locks, the conch and the weapon sakti (a
javelin or short double sword used as a throw weapon) , and
jewels in the form of cobras. It is further stated that God
there appeared in both the forms. It is therefore clear that
jewels in the shape of Naga were always worn by Srmivasa.
It cannot therefore be said that that form of jewel is peculiar
only to other gods. Further, since we have now offered proof,
it is wrong to regard these features, the use of bilva, the
absence of the conch and discus and the wearing of the matted
locks and naga jewels as necessarily peculiar to other gods.
It would be equally clear that, if these are peculiar to 6iva as
our opponents say, they could hardly be appropriate to
Skanda. These contentions are therefore clearly baseless.
The image of god that appears before us has the mark of
rlvatsa, and carries Lakshmi on his chest. These make it
clear that He is God Narayana and nobody else. Narayana is
stated to be the only primeval being. Brahma and 6iva and
other gods sprang from him. Narayana is again stated to be
the creator of the universe, its protector and ultimate des-
troyer. That it is from this primeval Supreme that Brahma,
iva and others arose is stated clearly in the Upanishads, If
'3
16 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
Narayana is the cause of creation, protection and destruction,
and, as the cause can contain feat'ures that appear in the con-
sequence, the wearing of the matted locks and the nag a jewel
is but an indication that Brahma and Siva emanated from him.
This form of Vishnu is described with the same features in
the Satvata Samhita. In the Padma Purana, chapters 27/3,
these powers are ascribed to Vishnu, and he is also stated to
be surrounded by the various powers to carry out these func-
tions. It therefore becomes clear that the features pointed
out by our opponents as peculiar to other gods become as
much features of Vishnu.
The next point for consideration is what the quotation
from the Padma Purana above conveys, namely, that Nara-
yana is the primary cause of all that exists, Vamana
Purana, chapter 24 (end of the chapter) states that the form
of Srmivasa is the primal form of Narayana himself. It is in
conformity with this that Pey Alvar describes him as exhi-
biting the two forms, namely, that of Vishnu and Siva. In
chapter 21/2 of the same work, it is stated that Vayu made
an incantation of the saving mantra Rama, and that Skancla
did so also, having obtained the mantra from his father 6iva.
The Brahmanda Purana, chapter 2, and Brahma Purana
chapter 2 alike, state that it was Adisesha that became the
sporting hill of God and thus gained the enjoyment of God's
perpetual presence on him. Both Varaha Purana, part II,
chapter 3, and Padma Purana, chapter 32/10 state clearly
that Srmivasa came down to the earth at the commencement
of Kritayuga. Therefore the god whose image is on the
southern bank of the Svami Pushkarini with all the features,
such as the wearing of the matted locks, the cobra ornaments,
worship with bilva, etc., is no other than Srinivasa, the con-
sort of Lakshmi, the lord of Vaikuntha, who came to reside
in Venkatachalam, worshipped by Skanda, Mahadcva and
others. It is thus clear that He is Srlman Narayana and no
other like Skanda or Siva.
When Ramanuja thus concluded his arguments, the
Yadava Raja told the aivas that he felt convinced that their
arguments were all satisfactorily met by Ramanuja, and that,
INTRODUCTION IT
if they had anything further to urge, they might do so the
next day, and requested Ramanuja that further arguments
will continue on the following day. When again they as-
sembled, the Saivas urged that the deity on the south bank
of-Svami Pushkarini is either Skanda or Mahadeva, and if
not, it must be Haiihara ; but it never could be Vishnu. They
urged in support that the emblems of Vishnii were not in-
compatible with the deity being Skanda, as the Vamana
Purana, chapter 21/2 where the origin of Skanda is recounted
by Brhaspati, it is stated clearly that Skanda had a part of
Vishnu in him. Since Skanda is said to have one head and
two arms, or six heads and twelve arms, it may not be in-
appropriate if sometimes he had one head and four arms,
If, however, this is objected to, we claim the image to be that
of Mahadeva on the same argument as the Vaishnavas who
claim these peculiar features as not unsuitable to Vishnu, the
primal cause of the universe, as we claim Mahadeva to be
the primal cause. Even otherwise since the Vaishnavas
claim that the god is Vishnu, because of some of the Vaish-
nava Agamas, so we call him Siva because of the Saiva signs
in the image. Again if it is inappropriate to regard him as
Mahadeva, he is certainly Harihara, since the signs of both
Vishnu and Siva are found in the image, and even Vaishnava
saints have so described them. Therefore in Skanda Purana
chapter 8, Srmivasa is described as Mahadeva, as also in
several other places, where the two terms are used together.
Therefore we may be certain that it is Harihara and nobody
else. Similarly in the Padma Purana, chapter 27/4 des-
cribing the coming down of the God, he is said to have worn
face mark resting upon a base resembling that of the eighth
day moon. Tnls part moon is a characteristic of Siva, and is
generally associated with him. Therefore the image must be
regarded as that of Harihara. Any other contention beyond
the three seems to us unacceptable.
The Yadava Raja replied that he could not agree with
the Saivas in respect of the image being Regarded as either
Skanda or Mahadeva, but whether it could be Harihara, he
would ascertain from Ramanuja himself. Ramanuja replied
that all "that was urged by the Saivas was wrong. In chapter
18 SR1VENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
10 of the Bhagavat Gita, Krishna says everything that exists
has a part of Vishnu in it, and therefore even Skanda and
Mahadeva must necessarily contain a part of Vishnu. It does
not require much further argument. In the Vamana Purana,
chapter 21/2, it is stated that Skanda is said to have had his
three baths daily and worshipped Narayana in the presence
of Vayu who was also there performing his penance. Since
he is said to be contemplating upon Narayana to get rid of
the sin of killing Tarakasura, and since> in chapter 24/5 of
the same work, Vayu is said to be performing penance long
since to God Srinivasa in the same place, and since Skanda
is said to have been worshipping Srinivasa ever since, it
would be absurd to say that the worshipping Skanda and the
worshipped Srlnivasa are one and the same.
Further, another question arises. It is admitted that on
the south bank of the tank, there is an image of a god en-
shrined in a temple. It is stated equally clearly in the .same
Puranas that Skanda came there to perform penance to
Vishnu to get rid of the sin of his having killed Tarakusura
in battle. These Puranas again say that in the same place
God Srinivasa appeared for the benefit of Brahma and the
other Devas, the Brahmarishis and Rajarishis and others who
were performing penance there with the same object. The
question therefore airses whether the God referred to as
being on the south bank of the tank is, in the circumstances,
Skanda or Srinivasa. It can hardly be Subrahmanya because
he is said to have come there to get zid of his sin by penance,
attracted towards the place for gaining the grace of Vishnu,
and therefore one among the many like Brahma and others
who were similarly engaged. How can Skanda then be
regarded as the object of worship to the others ? More than
this, the same Puranas assert that Skanda came daily from
the Kumara Dharika to offer worship to Srinivasa, and there-
fore it cannot be said, on their authority, that Skanda's habi-
tual residence was on the south bank of the Svami Pushkarini
Nor is this fact of the establishment of Skanda in a shrine
stated in any of our authorities. Moreover the same Pura- '
nas state that gankaraja and Tontfaman Chakravarti built a
shrine to Vishnu who appeared in response to the penance of
INTRODUCTION 19
the Devas and the Rishis. Therefore their contention has
no evidence to rest on. It is thus clear that the deity there
is not Skanda,
Since even the gratis state it clearly that Vishnu came
down from Vaikuntham to show himself to Brahma, Indra
and the Rishis performing penance on the south bank of the
tank, therefore it is impossible that the deity there is Skanda ;
nor is it any more possible that it is Mahadeva, who it has
already been stated was there to worship Vishnu, and since
it is clearly stated that it is Narayana who appeared there
in response to the penance of these, there is no room for the
inference it could be Mahadeva. As was already stated
Mahadeva was already there at the foot of the hill even
before Skanda appeared. It is also stated clearly in the
Vamana Purana that, after offering worship along with
others when Srmivasa appeared on the hill, Mahadeva
returned to Kailasa as the others returned to their own
places, and that ^rinivasa alone was in residence on the hilL
Therefore it cannot be said that Mahadeva is in residence
where Srmivasa actually is. More than this, it is well-known
that the prescribed image for the worship of Mahadeva is a
linga. It is not usual to worship Siva in the form of an
image with all organs. That that is the accepted form of
worship is stated in the Bhavishyottara Purana, chapter 2.
In the Varaha Purana chapter 29 containing the Srlnivasa
Ashtottara, it is stated that he was being meditated upon by
Sankara residing at the foot of the hill, and in the Brahmancla
Purana, Srinivasa is called .Kalagwmya^ worshipped by
Kdlal-cantha. The image on the south bank therefore can only
be Narayana and not Mahadeva, The matted locks and the
nag a jewels cannot be said to be peculiar to Mahadeva since
the god there is given the peculiar name of Narayana. It
is not unusual that among the avataras of this Narayana some
are exhibited as wearing matted locks, etc* It is not correct,
as the Saivas contend, to say that Mahadeva is the cause of
all on the analogy of the Vaishnavas claiming that Vishnu
is the cause of all. Because in the Srutis, it is only Nara-
yana that is declared to be the cause of all. It is thus clear
that this God is not Mahadeva (Siva)* He cannot be des-
20 SR1VENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
cribed as Harihara because the weapons peculiar to Vishnu
alone, such as the conch and the discus, are worn by Sii-
nivasa. He is further described to have come from Vai-
kuntha specifically. Even the Alvai^s who mention the Saiva
features in the Prabandhas speak of the God as Narayana
notwithstanding these features. Further than that it is stated
that on the occasion when Srmivasa appeared, the gods in-
cluding Brahma and Rudra are said to have come there and
offered worship. It cannot be said that Brahma offered wor-
ship to Siva, his son. Further it is stated in the Vamana
Purana that Mahadeva himself stated it clearly in the Vamana
Purana that it was not appropriate he should touch the un-
created (apprdkrtam) image of Bhagavan. It is thus clear
that the image cannot be described as Harihara. The fact
that the image of Vishnu wears the upright face mark resting
on a base like the moon grown eight digits cannot be held
to mean the carrying of the crescent moon on the head of Siva,
as it is clearly stated that the mark was worn on the face.
Further in regard to the various avatar as of Vishnu, such
as the fish, the tortoise, the boar, etc., these are determined
on the evidence of the words in the Sruti, not by the marks
or other signs on the face and arms. Therefore since it is
clearly stated that God Narayana came from Vaikuntham
as Srmivasa on the Venkatachala hill, the appearance of
features like the matted locks, and the Naya jewels cannot
be held to indicate the Saiva character of the god.
Seeing that Ramanuja had successfully met all the
arguments urged by the 6aivas in their support, the Yaclava
Raja inquired whether the Saivas had anything else to urge
in support of their contention. They said in reply that they
had become dumbfounded by the power of incantation of
Ramanuja, and further if, as the ruler of the locality, he
carried out the wishes of Ramanuja by force, they were in
no position to do anything against him, We would be satis-
fied however completely if Ramanuja could show us that his
contention is acceptable to the god himself. The Yadava
Raja said in reply that, having once diverted his mind from
the truth by false arguments, they were still attempting to
persist, and warned them that if they so persisted ; he would
INTRODUCTION 21
be compelled to punish them, and, turning to Ramanuja,
asked him to demonstrate to the Saivas that his contention
has the approval of the god himself.
Ramanuja resolved within himself to put the question
beyond doubt by making the god wear the conch and the
discus, as he is described in chapter 11 of the Brahmanda
Purana. Then addressing the king, he said that, if the king
would be pleased to make a conch and a discus, the special
symbols of Vishnu, and the rope, the goad and other weapons
characteristic of other gods, and place them in the sanctum
of the temple, the weapons that the god assumes would put
it beyond a doubt whether he is Vishnu or any other god.
This was agreed to, and each party got the weapons
characteristic of Vishnu and other gods made, and proceeding
with the king to Venkatachala placed these in front of the
god, and locking the door kept watch all round. Ramanuja
on his part approaching the God by means of his Yoga prac-
tices prayed that he might assume his own weapons as before,
and put the question beyond a doubt. After daybreak the
Yadava Raja took both the parties along with him and got
the door opened, when to his surprise, he saw the image of
Srmivasa wearing the conch and the discus. Thereafter he
became a devotee of Ramanuja and punished those who set
up this mischievous contest. He became thenceforward
Ramanuja's disciple, accepting from him the Vaishnava initia-
tion of the holy branding and other ceremonies, and con-
tinued to be his devoted disciple. Thereafter Ramanuja
satisfied with what had been done, got the king's judgment
published and restored the old form of puja according to the
practice of Vaikhanasa Agama, having duly performed the
great ablution as an initial purificatory ceremony to the god
* and the temple. Further he took steps to restore the
damaged Vimdna Anandanilaya in accordance with the pres-
cription of the Vaikhanasa Agama, and put round the neck of
the Bhagavan a garland of gold containing an image of Pad-
mavati, and re-established the deity as before. Having thus
got rid of the danger from the Saivas to the Vishnu temple,
and, making Yadava Raja who was his disciple do everything
22 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
required to conduct the regular worship in the temple, Rama-
nuja retired to Lower Tirupati (Gdvindarajapattana) and
remained there for sometime.
Fourth Stabaka
Ramanuja while himself residing in Tirupati (Lower
Tirupati) saw that the Friday ablution (abhisheka) was
performed every week as prescribed in the Ananda Samhita
of the Vaikhanasa Agama. He also arranged that that for
Srmivasa the upright face mark should be of pacchaik-
karpuram (preparation of camphor) as prescribed in the
27/41st chapter of the Padmapurana, and Bhavishyottara
Puraria 7/11. It was laid down by him that thenceforward
this ought to be the upright face mark for three days begin-
ning Friday, and for the following three days beginning
Monday, this mark should be of white earth. Ho also
prescribed the application of collyrium lo the eye over and
above this. On Thursdays the jewellery worn by the God
should be removed completely, and the image should be
dressed all over in flowers as prescribed by him. This
flower dress should be removed on the following Friday, and
the upright face mark should be made on the forehead of
the image with the sacred earth (tiruman). The image
should also be made to wear the under cloth and the upper
cloth. Then the morning worship ought to be performed.
Afterwards the image should be given ablution, and then
decorated with all the jewels with the upright face mark of
camphor as before. He further prescribed that on Fridays
the Nacchiyar Tirumoli of the Prabandham sung by Goda,
an incarnation of Bhudevi should be sung, as .in the removal
of the jewels worn by the image, the golden representation of
PadmavatI would also be removed to the regret of the god.
He further arranged for the celebration of the festivals to
the god. As there were no streets laid down for taking out
the god, he made arrangements for the laying out of the
streets for the purpose, He also arranged for the continu-
ance of the worship in the temple by making it the duty of
those descended from one Bimbadhara who was peculiarly
attached to the god, was an expert in the Vaikhanasa Agama,
INTRODUCTION 23
and who received the Vaishnava initiation of Panchasam-
skara from himself. Having got all these arrangements made
through the Yadavaraja who had become his disciple, Rama-
nuja set about, and arranged for the installation of the images
of the Alvars in the Govindaraja temple at Tirupati at the foot
of the - hill. This he did, as they themselves in their works
thought it polluting the hill to go up even for worship, and
therefore worshipped God on the hill from a distance, because
it is stated in the Vamana Purana, chapter 21/2, that great
rishis like Suka, Bhrgu, and devotees like Prahlada, and kings
like Ambarisha, all regarded the hill Venkatachala as an
abode of Vishnu, and therefore too sacred to be trodden
upon.
Sometime before this, it happened that a Chola ruler by
name Krmikantha destroyed several Vishnu temples and
carried his destructive work even into the holy place of
Govinda Raja at Chitrakuta (Chidambaram). Some of the
Vaishnavas of the locality carried the Utsava image (move-
able festival image) from there, and removed themselves for
safety to Tirupati at the foot of the hill, the larger image of
the sanctum having been thrown into the sea by order of
the Chola. Having heard of this calamity with great
sorrow, Ramanuja set up another image in the" sanctum, and
with the utsava image brought by the Vaishnavas instituted
a regular system of worship in the temple of Govinda Raja in
Lower Tirupati. All this Ramanuja did through the Yadava
Raja, resident at Narayanapura, who fixed a spot on the bank
of a tank to the south of the town of Tirupati, and there in-
stalled the images of Govinda Raja. He then built the
temple and a town round it by name Ramanujapura, and in-
stituted a course of worship as in Tirupati on the hill. Having
carried all these out through the Yadava Raja by exhibiting
to him the great devotion that he himself felt for Srlnivasa,
Ramanuja returned to Srirangam. He made three or four
visits afterwards on occasions and instituted various services
in the temple as occasion demanded. w The Yadava Raja
carried out everything as arranged by Ramanuja. On one
of these occasions Ramanuja instituted in the temple of
Govinda Raja the shrine for the goddess Goda, who -as', a
4
24 SRIVENKATACHALA 1TIHASAMALA
vyuha (manifest form) of Lakshmi, was found in his garden
of basil and brought up b5< T Bhattanatha, Thereafter the
Yadava Raja arranged for the conduct of the worship of
Govinda Raja in the month of Ani (August-September) as
also the bathing festival in the month of Margali (December-
January). The Yadava Raja then constructed houses in the
four streets of Raman. ujapura, and granted them as a free
gift to devotees of Vishnu like Tirumalai Nambi, Ananta
Alvan, and others. He also built the bazaar streets to the
north-west of the temple and a granery for paddy to the east
of the town.
Fifth Stabaka
Relating to the story of the step well and the golden well.
As has been related in the 2nd part of the Varaha Parana,
chapter 10, Tondaman Chakravarti was ruling the locality at
the beginning of the Kali age. He used to visit the temple of
Srmivasa by the underground passage called the Nrisimha
cavern. On one occasion this Chakravarti having boon driven
out by enemies went through the secret passage to the temple
at dead of night. In consequence of this intrusion, it is said
that Sri Devi hid herself in the chest of 6iinivasa, while Bhu-
devi sheltered herself in the well dug by Ranga Dasa for
watering the flower garden* Hearing these stories from the*
old people in the locality, Ramanuja arranged to set up images
of &rmivasa with Bhudevi on the bank of the step well con-
structed by Ranga Dasa, and arranged for their daily
worship. He also asked that flowers, basil, etc., used in wor-
ship of Srinivasa may be dropped into that well for the sake
of Bhudevi. On one occasion when Alavandar undertook a
visit to Tirupati, he found that Tirumalai Nambi, who used to
bring water from the Papanasa tank and bathe the images in
it, on that particular day, was not able to do so owing to
illness, Alavandar took the occasion to address a prayer to
God grinivasa that he might accept the water from the well
formerly constructed by Ranga Dasa, as the equivalent of
water from Papanasa, and ordained that thereafter the water
from that well should be regarded as of equal holiness with
INTRODUCTION 25
that of either Papanasa or Akasa Ganga. It has therefore be-
come the habit in consequence that the water of that well was
being used for all holy purposes in the temple. Having heard
of this, Ramanuja ordained that the water of Papanasa, Akasa
Ganga, and this well called Sundarasvami well were all of
equal holiness, and the water of any of these should be used
for all purposes in the temple. The two wells referred to
above, the step well of Ranga Dasa, and the Sundarasvami
well were stated to have been originally constructed for the
kitchen convenience of Sri Devi and Bhudevi. Having fallen
into neglect for sometime, it is stated that the gardener Ranga
Dasa repaired them and made them fit for use. This is stated
in the 9th chapter of the Varaha Purana, part ii.
In the Bhavishyottara Purana, chapter 13, it is stated that
this was done by Tondaman Chakravarti in his previous birth.
Chapter 7 of the Brahma Purana, however, contains a state-
ment that the well was actually constructed by Bhudevi, and
that the flower -garden was made by the Sudra (probably
Ranga Dasa) . In the Bhavishyottara Purana, it is stated that
the devotee Ranga Dasa met the Vaikhanasa temple priest
Gopinatha on the way, and discovered the god at the foot of
the tamarind tree. Therefore, in constructing the temple, he
took care that the tree was not affected by the structure. In
chapter 9 of the Varaha Purana in the section bearing on
Ranga Dasa, Ranga Dasa is said to have constructed the tem-
ple. In the story of Tondaman Chakravarti in chapter 10, it is
stated that God commanded the Chakravarti to construct the
shrine, which he attempted to do between the tamarind tree
and the champaka tree without hurting either, and when the
Chakravarti was actually exercised as to how to bring in a
temple of the size within the narrow limits, it is also stated
that the trees of themselves moved out of their place to make
room for the temple. On the basis of these stories Ramanuja
recognised that 'these trees were fit for being worshipped and
ordained daily worship o these as well.
The explanation for the Ndga jewels dn the image.
On a previous occasion, a Gajapati king by name Vira
Narasimha was on a pilgrimage to Ramesvaram (Setu). He
2G SR1VENKATACHALA ITTHASAMALA
came to Venkatachala in the course of his journey, and having
had his bath at the Svami Pushkarini offered worship at the
temple of Siinivasa. Having done so, he ordered the con-
struction -of a tower for the temple to complete the structure.
Having gone forward on his pilgrimage taking Srirangarn and
other holy places on the way, he returned to Venkalachalam
after his visit to Ramesvaram and remained there to complete
the structure of the tower. During his stay he dreamt one
night that a serpant came to htm and addressed him as
follows : " O Gajapati. I am this Venkatachala. Your con-
structing this big tower on the hill gives me great pain, I had
therefore to proceed to the God and twine myself round his
arm in carrying my appeal to him." Having heard this, the
king consulted elderly folk in the place. They told him in
reply that it was a fact on the authority of the Puranas, that
the hill undoubtedly was the great serpant, Sesha, or Ananta,
and that the construction of a great tower for the temple was
likely to be painful to the serpant Ananta. They advised him
therefore to desist. Having heard this, the Gajapati completed
the tower without carrying through the whole of his project,
and, as an expitiation for ^he pain that he gave to Ananta ; he
made a golden jewel in the shape of Ananta and asked it to be
put on the god as a jewel. The orthodox folk round about
objected to this as the jewel was characteristic of other gods,
but he was assured by the god himself, assuring them through
one possessed of his spirit, that the jewel was acceptable to the
God. It was thus made clear to Ramanuja that, from the clays
of Vira Narasimha, this Naga jewel was worn ont one of the
arms of the god. On further enquiry, Ramanuja found, from
the accounts in the Bhavishyottara Purana and in chapter 2
of the Brahma Purana, that the God was presented with this
Naga jewel for both the hands by Akasa Raja on the occasion
of the marriage of Padmavati to the God, Having ascertained
this he ordained that the Naga jewel ought to be placed on
both the hands of the image,
Next follow^ the story of Nrisimha ; In the Skanda
Purana, in the section dealing with the river Svarnamukhari,
. it is stated that God Sankara performed a penance for some-
time on the west bank of the Svami Pushkarini in contempla~
INTRODUCTION 27
lion of God Nrisimha, and that, in this place, Nrisimha ap-
peared before the penitent Siva. It is also stated in the 61/29th
chapter of the first part of the Varaha Pur ana, in the
Ashtottara Sata Narnavali (a string of 108 names) some of the
Saivas who lived about that time wanted to build a temple on
the west bank of the tank for both Sankara and Nrisimha who
appeared in response to his penance. The Vaishnavas oppos-
ing it pointed out that according to the Puranas Siva who
wished to reside there with Vishnu was asked by the latter to
reside below the hill in the south-eastern direction. They also
pointed out that the hill Venkatachalam is a divine hill sacred
to Vishnu, and therefore any representation of 6iva should not
be installed therein. So saying they succeeded in stopping the
building of the temple. Afterwards when Ramanuja was
there, seeing that God Nrisimha was of a very austere form,
and since a separate shrine for this God would lead to trouble
with the Saivas, found authority in the Varaha Purana, first
part, chapter 61/29, to regard God Srlnivasa himself as Nri
simha in form, and therefore set up a separate shrine in the
temple of Srlnivasa " with the tower called Ananda-Nilayam in
front of Srmivasa himself and ordained the conduct of the
worship of this form of Vishnu there.
The image of Nrisimha half way up the hill.
The Markandeya Purana, chapter 2, states that a disciple
of Agastya by name Suddha along with the Rishi Markandeya
once w en ^ up the hill of Venkatachalam, On the way, near
the cavern sacred to Nrisimha, it is stated that Markandeya
had a vision of Nrisimha. On the basis of this Ramanuja set
up a Nrisimha image on the spot where God Nrisimha
appeared before Markan$eya, and arranged for the worship
of this deity also,
Application of the camphor preparation on the chin of Srzniudsq,
and the hanging of the shovel. on the temple tower.
Ramanuja had directed one of his disciples Anantarya, a
great devotee of Vishnu, to maintain the flower garden
for the service of Srlnivasa, Anantarya took great interest
in this work and was doing all the work of the garden
himself without seeking assistance of others, and
28 - - SRJVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
ever earth had to be dug and removed, he drew upon
the assistance of his pregnant wife to carry the earth
for him. On this, God Srinivasa was moved to pity for
the woman, and, assuming the form of a young bachelor
(vatu) , took the basket of earth from xhe lady and was carry-
ing it himself. Anantarya was wild with the young bachelor
for doing what he regarded as an impertinent act. All this
warning fell on deaf ears. Getting angry once, he struck the
bachelor with his shovel, which struck him at the chin and
left a depression there. When he went to worship Srmivasa
that day, he found blood dripping from the God's chin.
Guessing that it was no other than Srmivasa himself that
appeared as the offending bachelor, he collected the pollen
from the flowers of Vishamacchada and pressed it on the wound
to stop the blood, and begged the God to excuse him for the
offence of hurting him. Pleased with his devotion Srmivasa
thought it but right that the wound should remain as it was,
and asked him to place the shovel with which he hit him at a
prominent place in the temple, so that it may be seen by all
This was carried out and ever since that times on the occasion
of the daily worship, Srmivasa is anointed with the camphor
mixture on the mark of the wound at the chin.
The Purattdsi (September-October) Festival.
As directed by Ramanuja, Anantarya (Ananta Alvar) had
set himself up in Venkatachalarn, having made a big flower
garden, and a large tank to irrigate it, He was engaged in the
daily service of supplying flowers to the temple from this gar-
den. God Srmivasa demonstrated this devotion of Antarya to
the public by a miracle. He assumed the form of a prince and
made Padmavati take the form of a princess, They both of
them engaged themselves in the pleasant occupation of collect-
ing flowers every night in Anantarya's flower garden. Having
found that somebody was- depriving the garcjen of its best
flowers so sedulously cultivated for God's service, Anantarya
kept watch for ei^ht days, and at dead of night on the eighth
day discovered the pair moving about in the garden. He tried
to capture both of them, but God Srinivasa managed to dodge
him and enter the temple, But Padmavati, in the form of the
INTRODUCTION 2
princess, could not run as fast, and was actually caught and
tied up to the champaka tree in the garden. Padmavati with
great deference prayed to Anantarya that he might capture
the husband, but might let her off, treating her as his own
daughter. In the course of this colloquy day dawned, when
the temple establishment entered the temple and opened the
sanctum. God Srinivasa let them know, through one of them,
that what took place in the garden was his own doing and com-
manded that Anantarya might be brought down together with
Padmavati. On hearing this Anantarya was transported with
joy. He came over with his basket of flowers, carrying
Padmavati on his head, and set her down at the feet of Sri-
nivasa. Having heard of this occurrence, Ramanuja directed
that, in memory of this miracle, the God may be taken in pro-
cession, on the seventh day of the Purattasi festival, round the
town, and on the eighth, the day of the car festival, Anantarya
may be presented with a garland of flowers and other gifts
from the God himself.
The story of the God at the foot of the Tamarind Tree.
Tirumalai Nambi (the maternal uncle of Ramanuja and
a grandson of Alavandar) was commanded by Alavandar to
go and settle down at Tirupati and perform regularly the duty
of bringing water for the ablution of the image in the temple
there. He had settled down at Tirupati for this purpose, and,
when Alavandar had passed away, Ramanuja went over to him
to have the Ramayana expounded to him. Well pleased with
this, Tirumalai Narnbi expounded to Ramanuja the Ramayana
with all its esoteric explanation. Ramanuja arranged to live
in the town of Tirupati at the foot of the hill as he thought it
would be desecration that he resided on the hill. Tirumalai
Nambi on the contrary, engaged in the temple service, had
necessarily to live there and the two had arranged to meet half
way up the hill. They fixed upon a tamarind tree far down
the hill as their meeting place where the Ramayana was being
expounded regularly. Having gone through this course of
instruction for a year, Tirumalai Nambi one evening felt some
contrition that because of this Ramayana work, he liad^-to
forego the midday worship of Srmivasa, Having expressed
INTRODUCTION 31
came possessed of him, to be taken over to Venkatachala. They
therefore removed the image from there, and, carrying it to
Tirupati, set it down in front of Tirumalai Nambi at the foot
of the tamarind tree, as he was expounding to Ramanuja
Vibhishana seeking refuge of Rama. Being quite surprised at
the coincidence, both Nambi and Ramanuja took the image of
Rama from there with Janaki his consort and other attendants,
and set these up according to the Vaikhanasa Agama, and
ordained the daily worship of these along with the worship of
grlnivasa as has been stated in the Tiruchanda Viruttam of
Tirumalisai Alvar (87) .
The Story of Varaha.
Ramanuja also ordained that the God Varaha on the
west bank of the Svami Pushkarini should be worshipped
first by those going to worship Srinivasa. This was laid down
in several Puranas describing the merits of Venkatachala
such as the Padmapurana, as they state it clearly that Varaha
was there even before Srmivasa ; that he should be wor-
shipped before Srmvasa is laid down in the 8th chapter of
the Brahma Purana, and in the 5th chapter of the Bhavish-
yottara Purana.
When Ramanuja had set up the image of Govinda Raja
in his shrine in Lower Tirupati and ordained that worship
should be conducted as if Venkatachalam and Tirupati were
one place of worship, he arranged it that when tRe final .
evening ceremony of sending God to sleep was performed,
these people engaged in temple service should be presented
with garland in the shrine of Visvaksena (an attendant god
answering to the controller of the household), before locking
up the temple for the night.
Sixth Siabaka
The account of Tirumalai Nambi's Association with Tirupati.
Tirumalai Nambi (who, by the way, was according to the
Guru Pararnparas a grandson of Alavandar\ was one among
the younger men in Srirangam, who was in the habit of
attending at Alavandar's exposition of Vaishnavaism, Ala-
v&ndar whose name was Yamunacharya was among the
5
30 SR1VENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
this feeling before God Srmivasa that evening, he went to bed
as usual. God appeared before Tirumalai Nambi in a clream
and promised to show himself to him at midday thereafter.
Tirumalai Nambi went about his work as usual with the re-
collection of this dream. One midday, Nambi felt the smell of
civet, musk, the camphor mixture, etc., associated with the
worship of God as when the temple worship was going on, and
suddenly he saw before him a pair of foot impressions of the
God with the leaves of basil offered in worship. Surprised at
this sudden appearance both Nambi and Ramanuja built up
a shrine for the foot-mark at the foot of the tamarind tree, and,
consecrating it, properly arranged for its daily worship. As
several Puranas have stated that in the age of Kali, God
Venkatanatha was the God complete, Nambi and Ramanuja
arranged that all people without distinction of caste, including
the CfaanddlaSy might come and -worship there at the foot of the
tamarind tree. They were to take their bath at a tank called
Chandala Tirtha near about, and then come and circum-
ambulate and offer worship at the foot marks of the god under
the tamarind tree. As prescribed in chapter 62 of part i of
Varaha Purana, every one that wished to worship Srmivasa
had to come to the spot, and, crying out the name of Govinda,
should offer worship at the foot and then proceed higher up
the hill to the temple,
The story of the image of Sri Rama in the temple of
Srinivdsa.
Once upon a time, as it is stated in the Vasishta Rama-
yana, there lived on the banks of the Kritamala (Vaigai) to the
south-west of Madura of the south, there was a Rishi by name
Visvambara in the town of Kalavingam (sparrow) , Having
recollected the offer of protection by Rama to VibhLshana, he
set himself up in penance to realise this particular act of grace
on the part of Rama. Sri Rama was gracious enough to give
him a view of his offer of protection to Vibhishana. That Rishi
made an image ef what he saw and set it up there in a shrine
and worshipped it daily. Some time after, there was a great
disturbance .in the town, and the image of Ramachandra there
directed the Vedshnavas there, through one of them, who be-
32 SRIVENKAT ACHALA ITIHASAMALA
teachers (Acharyas) of Vaishnavism coming really two gene-
rations after, but almost as the next important successor of
the first Acharya NathamunL One of the main functions of
these teachers is to expound the cardinal texts of Vaishnavism.
On one occasion he was expounding the Tiruvaymoli, the prin-
cipal work of Narnmalvar regarded as an exposition in Tamil
of the essence of the Veda. In the course of exposition of the
third ten of the third Tiruvaymoli, he expatiated upon the
great religious merit of the holy place Tiruvengadam and
pointed out that, in such a holy place, it would be very desir-
able indeed for one to render service to the God by providing
water for his ablution and flower for worship and decoration.
He wound up by expressing his great regret that at his age, he
could not undertake the important and meritorious service.
Young Tirumalai Nambi immediately got up from the audi-
ence and volunteered to go to Tirupati and render this
service to the God by residing there, To demonstrate the
great devotion of Tirumalai Nambi, the God at Vengadam
assumed the form of a hunter as Tirumalai Nambi carrying
the water pot on his head was going towards the temple from
the holy water of Papanasa. The hunter begged of him for a
little of the water that he was carrying, as he was very thirsty.
Naturally Tirumalai Nambi declined to desecrate the water
for the holy service by using a part of it for the purpose of
drink, and so walked along quietly. The hunter kept follow-
ing him as he thought. As the Nambi was repeating the Pra-
bandha verses of Kaliyan (Tirumangai Alvar) and moving
on, the hunter made a small hole in the pot by the arrow that
he was carrying in his hand and gradually drank off the whole
water. Having gone some considerable distance absorbed in
his recital of the Prabandha, Tirumalai Nambi felt that
the burden on his head had become very light, and discovered
what had happened, as the hunter was still drinking the water.
To his angry question whether it was proper for him to have
done what he did with the water that he was taking to the
temple for God's service, the hunter coolly answered " O,
Grandfather,* do "not be distressed about the water. Here a
little way down is a holy pool of water from which you can
take water for the temple service instead ". He led the Nambi
INTRODUCTION 33
some little way and pointed to the holy water of Akasa
Ganga, and said that " This is the holy Ganges water itself,
and you might bring this daily for our service ". Having said
this to indicate that he was no other than God himself, he dis-
appeared. Struck with wonder at this exhibition of grace
by God to his devotees, he became the more devoted, and was
serving God with water taken from the Akasa Ganga instead
of from the distant Papanasa. Since the God himself address-
ed him Tata (grandfather), he was thenceforward known
Srfsaila Natha Tatacharya or in Tamil, Tirumalai Tatacharya) .
Tirumalai Nambi had a son by name Ramanuja. When he
died early, he had adopted a son, who was known as Kumara
Tirumalai Nambi. Tirumalai Nambi often used to call him
Tata, and he came to be known thenceforward as Tatacharya.
Since he was friendly to everybody in the locality, he became
popular and was designated Tolappa Tatacharya or Tatarya,
the friend. Having spent some time longer in this service, Tiru-
malai Nambi ultimately passed away. Ramanuja arranged in
memory of Tirumalai Nambi the annual celebration of a fes-
tival in which the God is given an ablution on the day follow-
ing the Adhyayana Utsava (festival of the recital of Pra-
bandhas) . The image of the God is to be seated in the hall
Mangalagiri. A number of Sri Vaishnava Brahmans used to
go to the Akasa Ganga and bring water from there chanting
all the way the Prabandha of Tirumangai Alvar, and carry-
ing the water in procession through the four streets running
round the temple, bring it into the temple and with the water
perform the ablution of the image and satagdpa (sin-destroyer ;
this is of the shape of the head gear made of metal covered
with gold, carrying on the top of it a pair of sandals symboli-
cal of the feet of God) .
The Account of Anantdrya.
Anantarya belonged to the West country and was born
at Lughunutanapura on the banks of the Kaveri (girupudu-
pattanam or jSiruputtur) . His father was t Kesavacharya of
the Bharadvaja gotra. The date of his birth is given as Kali
4154 or Saka 975 expired, the year Vijaya, the month of
Chaitra and nakshatra Chittra.. Having received his early
34 SRIVENKATACHALA IT1HASAMALA
education and attained to much competency, he went down to
Srirangam, along with a number of others including Yegnesa,
to Ramanuja, who then was teaching in Srirangam. Rama-
nuja welcomed them among his pupils and was giving them
instruction in the Vedanta. One day Ramanuja enquired
who among the number of his disciples was willing to vol-
unteer service at Venkatachala to supply flowers, etc., to God
Venkatanatha there. Most of them shrank from it as the
place was cold and otherwise uncomfortable for a permanent
residence, while Anantarya bravely got up and offered his
services. Ramanuja applauded his courage and sent him there,
It is this that gave him the later name Ananta-purusharya,
purusha being the equivalent of a manly man. He went to
Venkatachalam and laid out a big garden and even construct-
ed a tank for the purpose of watering it. He took the flowers
from this garden and offered them for the daily service in the
temple. Having heard that at one time Yamuna chary a had a
little cottage put up near the temple and from there was doing
the flower service, he built up a Mantapa on the same spot,
and set up an image of Yamunacharya and arranged for con-
ducting the worship of Yamunacharya in that pavilion. He
generally strung the flowers together into garlands in that
pavilion and took them over for service to the temple at the
time of worship, carrying them on his head. Anantarya went
on doing this service with his son who was called Ramanuja.
Seventh Stabaka
The organising of some other festivals as a result of a careful
investigation of Venkatachala Mahatmyam.
The first point discovered was that the hill Venkatachala
was Vishnu himself. This is stated in the following Puranas;
Markan$eya Purana, Part ii, Varaha Purana, part i, chap-
ter 34/2, Vamana Purana, chapter 21/2, which state clearly
that sages like Suka, great devotees like Prahlada and royal
saints like Ambarlsha all regarded the hill itself as a form of
Vishnu, and therefore always remained at the foot of the hill
not to desecrate it by walking up the hill. Having known
this, Ramanuja himself followed the example by remaining
36 - SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
worship him daily which was not granted, and the fact that
he was asked to make his abode at the foot of the hill to the
south-west of it on the bank of the Kapila Tirtha. Therefore
all the distance between Svami Pushkarini and Kapila Tirtha
is marked out as holy for Vishnu, Therefore through a radius
of one yojana (7 to 8 miles) round the Svami Pushkaiini is
regarded holy because of the presence of God ; and all that is
laid down above, will apply to that whole area. Within this
area no temple to any other gocl should or could be erected.
Whatever people do in accordance with these regulations
does not make them liable for any desecration. Tirumalai
Nanibi and Anantarya laid down these regulations of Rama-
nuja before the God in the sanctum and prayed for his appro-
val, which was expressed through one of the worshipping
priests becoming possessed and giving divine assent. This was
accepted by all those associated with the temple and in resi-
dene on the hill.
The appointment of a bachelor (Ekdngi) for taking care of
whatever belongs to Srinivasa,
Ramanuja wanted someone to see that these regulations
were carried out and that the worship itself was conducted
according to regulations after the death of Tirumalai Nambi
and Anantarya. Someone was also required to see that
there was no quarrel about these matters. He was to be a
man of learning, capable of instructing the local ruler, and of
sufficient renunciation to have any desire for himself. So
Ramanuja ari^anged it that an unmarried man (Brahma-
chari) , such as is prescribed in the Paramesvara Samhita be
chosen and given the coloured robes of a sanyasin, and that he
carry on the administration of the temple under the orders of
Tirumalai Nambi and Anantarya. He also entrusted him with
the image of Chakravarti Kumara (Rama) and a seal with the
mark of Hanuman for him to seal up the treasury, and a key
with which to lock up the temple for the night.
The Installation 'of a Sanyasin (Yoti) called Venkafanatha
Satagopa Yati by Ramanuja.
Ramanuja during his first visit to Tirupati arranged to
secure the gift of a village called Balaman<Jyam irrigated by
INTRODUCTION 37
a canal from the river by one Vittala Deva Raya, his disciple.
He then asked a few families of Sri Vaishnavas to go and settle
down in Tirupati. It was also at this time that he learnt the
Ramayana from Tirumalai Nambi. When after a year's stay Jbe
wanted to return to Srirangam, he gave to Anantarya, who
was disconsolate at parting, an image of his own likeness. He
then left for Srirangam taking with him his cousin Govinda
Nambi.
On the second occasion' of his visit to Tirupati, he had to
settle the question whether the God there was Vishnu or any
other. He established successfully and to the satisfaction of
the Yadava Raja that it was Vishnu and, through the good
offices of the Raja, he got the Vimana tower, pavilion and such
other structures for the temples built. It was also on this occa-
sion that he took up the image of Govinda Raja from Chitra-
kuta cast out by the Chola Krimikantha and got him estab-
lished in a temple along with Gcda Devi. He also got
constructed through Tirumalai Nambi and Anantarya a
shrine to Hanuman, and set up there the image of Chakra-
varti Kumara (Rama) given to him by Tirumalai Nambi, He
ordained the bachelor who was a disciple of Anantarya and
installed him there as described in the Paramesvara Samhita,
giving him the red robes and appointing him guardian of the
shrine, Senapati. He also gave him the seal bearing the mark
of Hanuman, a seal-ring, a pennon with the mark of the bell
on it, and the key of the temple, He got the Yadava Raja to
pass an order that all those residing in Venkatachalaxn should
act according to his commands. He then left for Srirangam.
When again he visited Tirupati at the ripe old age of 102 in
the year Kali 4220, Salivahana &ika 1041, he entrusted, in
view to his own great age, the whole management
to Anantarya who was then 66 years old to supe-
rintend the management of the temple. Since the
whole management could not be conducted by the
one bachelor sanyasin, he also ordered he might be
made a full sanyasin, and given two or three assistants by
.appointing Imihniacharia (bachelors) to those offices as in his
own case. Seeing that a special kind of service should be
instituted in the temple as described in the Tiruvaymoli of
88 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
Nammalvar, the third ten, third section, he appointed a spe-
cial devotee for this purpose under the name Satagopa Yati.
He entrusted him with the worship of the image of Rama.
Then he chose from among the disciples of Anantarya four
and made them bachelor sanyasins to assist him. He then
told Yadava Raja to conduct the management of the temple
with the assistance of Anantarya, on account of his old
age, owing to which it was not possible for him to be visiting
Tirupati often. Under the direction of Anantarya, Satagopa
Yati and the four Brahma char ins should actually carry on the
services to the temple. These four bachelors took over the
work of the one bachelor before, and put themselves under
the direction of Satagopa Yati. He commended Anantarya
as the most capable among his students, and bespoke the Ya-
dava Raja's consideration for him. He also informed the Ya-
dava Raja that similar arrangements were required in all the
Vaishnava shrines and that he had instituted 74 sim-
hasanas (throne) for his disciples, and enthroned
them on the achdryapitha and made them Achdryas.
What these acharyapurushott&mas should be is laid
down in the Padmottara, Chapter I. These Achar-
yapurushas as a body were to keep an eye upon the
proper conduct of worship in all the temples dedicated to
Vishnu. When a number * of these came together, they must be
treated with respect and rewarded as prescribed in the an-
dilya Srutl Having made these arrangements Ramanuja
pointed out to the Yadava Raja that Anantarya was the senior-
most among those present at the time, and that he might do
everything with his advice. This person Anantarya, with some
of your descendants, Satagopa Yati representing him, and a
certain number representing Tirumalai Nambi should be ap-
pointed for the future as such are not at the moment here
present, and asked him to carry this out. He further instruct-
ed that one belonging to the Satamarshana gotra should be
appointed for this service as Nathamuni, Kurukai Kavalappan,
Yamuna-muni an4 other great teachers belonged to this gotra.
Having made these regulations, he got down the hill, for
Govindarajapattinam wherefrom he left for 6rlrangam, after
instructing the Yadava Raja to see to it that the trouble created
INTRODUCTION 39
by the Saivas was not repeated either in the one place or in
the other.
The setting up of the image of Ramanuja in Venkatachalam.
Sometime after, Anantarya having heard of Ramanuja's
nirvana (giving up of his body) prayed to God grl-
nivasa, with great sorrow, and put forward a request
that, in recognition of the great services of Rama-
nuja to humanity generally, he might condescend to
permit of the recital of the centum Ramanuja
Nurrandadi composed in praise of Ramanuja by one of his
disciples, Amudan of Srirangam, during the Adhyayana Utsava,
and that he might permit of the setting up of an image of
Ramanuja within the precincts of the temple and the arranging
for the conduct of daily worship to that image with a view
to the promotion of his teaching and the perpetuation of the
arrangements that he had made. The God expressed his assent
through one of those present.
On another occasion a certain. Satagopa who was appoint-
ed to carry out the wishes of Srirangai'aja (Sri Rangaraja
Vignapti Karya) who instructed Ramanuja himself in the
Prabandhas of the Alvars took the opportunity, during the
festival in the month of Karttika to appeal to Ranganatha for
permission to go to Tirupati. Having worshipped the God
Ranganatha, he proceeded to the Ramanuja mantapa
(pavilion) in Srirangam and obtained the approval of Rama-
nuja for his proceeding to Tirupati with a view to singing the
Prabandhas in the Devagdna on the hill. Having received
Ramanuja's approval, he started on his journey. Having
broken his journey at Conjivaram to worship Varadaraja, he
proceeded onward to Lower Tirupati at the foot of the hill*
Having offered his worship at the Govinda Raja shrine, he
walked up to the foot of the hill, and, worshipping again the
foot-marks under the tamarind tree, and the Nrisimha image
enshrined in the forest near about, he went up the hill to
where Tirumalai Nambi and Anantarya were. Having ex-
changed courtesies with them, he took his bath at the Svami
Pushkarini, and, having completed his daily services, went and
offered worship at the Varaha shrine as instructed in the
6
40 SRIVENKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
Tiruvoymoli of Farankusa, and then proceeded to the temple
of Venkatanatha (Srmivasa) . There he offered his "worship
to the God in prescribed form, and having accepted his tirtlia
(holy water) from the katdha (the vessel in which the water
used in ablution of the image is preserved), he also offered
worship at the shrine of Visvaksena, Nrisimha at Venkata-
ehala, Garuda and other attendant deities in the temple. Then
having got round the temple rightwise, he went into the pre-
cincts of the God, and, as directed in the Periya Tirumoli, he
sang the Tirumoli of the Alvar. Then, praying for the inter-
cession of Lakshmi, he made his self -surrender to the God and
had a complete view from head to foot of the image there. He
was then commanded by God in the usual fashion to sing a few
verses from the Prabandha of the first Alvars. He did as he
was commanded and pleased God immensely. Having been
rewarded by God with the gift of the holy water and other
things usual, in reward for his services, he went up to Tiru-
malai Nambi and Anantarya. Having been requested by them
to begin the Adhyayana Utsava daily by chanting the first ten
of Periya Alvar's Tirumoli. He rendered it musically first, and
then the rest of the Prabandhas during the festival. He took
leave and left for Srirangam and reported all that had taken
place to Ramanuja.
Well pleased with what had been done, Ramanuja
ordained that the Prabandha of the first Alvars may be sung
first, and then the other Prabandhas, all of them being alike
set to music and musically chanted. In order that this may
be done regularly he appointed one from among the descend-
ants of Nathamuni for this particular task and gave him the
designation Srlsaila Vignaptikarya, and sent him to Tirupati
with a letter to Anantarya. Having reached Tirupati with the
letter, this Srisaila Vignaptikarya handed the letter over to
Anantarya and went to the sanctum of Srmivasa along with
Anantarya. Anantarya intimated to Srinivasa the wish of
Ramanuja in regard to Srisaila Vignaptikarya, and, having
received God's approval, asked him to reside in Tirupati and
keep conducting his services as directed by Ramanuja.
The above resume of the work &i Venkatachala Itihasa
Mala gives more or less a clear idea of the contents of the
INTRODUCTION 41
work. A critical evaluation of the material contained in it
would be necessary before it can well be used for purposes
of reconstructing a history of Tirupati so far as that important
epoch is concerned. The epoch is of particular importance as
practically the whole organisation of worship in the temple
seems based upon the arrangements that Ramanuja is believed
to have made there.
The work claims to have been compiled by Anantarya,
If he was the disciple .of Ramanuja deputed to carry out
Ramanuja's directions and see to it that the affairs of the
temple were managed satisfactorily thereafter is doubtful.
From the details given in the work itself, he was Rama-
nuja's junior by about 36 years, and had been contem-
porary not only with Ramanuja but even with his uncle
Tirumalai Nambi, so that Tirumalai Nambi, Ramanuja and
Anantarya between them would perhaps have covered about
a century of time. The precise date given for the birth of
Ramanuja is Saka 939, equivalent to A.D. 1017, and, by all
accounts, he is said to have lived for a pex-iod of 120 years,
which would take him to A.D. 1137 for his last year. He must
have passed away cither that year or the year following. In
the course of the narrative contained in this work, he is made
to say to the Yarlava Raja that he was too old to be able to
make other visits to Tirupati as he^ was 102 years at the time.
That would mean he had just about 18 years of life left, and
that again would mean the actual date under reference is
A.D. 1118 or 1119 when Anantarya is said to have been 66
years. That is the date for Ramanuja so far as the Guru-
parampara accounts and the account of the Itihasa
Mala are concerned. We have no means of checking this by
any other direct sources of information, as we have none. But
then this can be chocked in a way by the traditional account
of the life of Ramanuja which brings him into contact with
rulers who lived at the time and rendered him assistance in
various ways, such as for instance the Yadava Raja who figures
so largely in this narrative. There are three rulers that come
into view in the account of his life, a Krimikantha Chola, a
Chola sovereign who died from an abcess in the neck which
was so bad and severe an attack that worms appeared in the-
42 SRIVENKATACHALA 1TIHASAMALA
abcess. Kence the name. Of course if the Vaishnava accounts
are to be believed in their entirety, he is supposed to have
suffered from this fell disease because of the dessecration pur-
posefully carried out in regard to the Vishnu temple of Govinda
Raja in Chidambaram. In regard to this particular matter we
come upon what seems to be a very serious discrepancy.
Assuming for the moment that the date as given for Ramanuja
in these works is correct, Ramanuja's life would be covered by
the whole of the llth century practically and the first 38 years
of the 12th. If for our purposes we neglect the first 25 years
or even 30 years of Ramanuja's life as uneventful and anterior
to his having become anything prominent, it would bring us
to the second half of the llth century for his active life, and
almost the following 40 years of the next century. During the
former period, and a very considerable part of the latter, the
Chola ruler happened to be the great Chola, Kulottunga
Chola I, A.D. 1070 to 1118 ; his last year may have been a few
years later. He was followed by a professed Vaishnava
Vikrama Chola who ruled from A.D. 1118 to 1136. He was in
turn succeeded by Kulottunga Chola II, a comparatively young
man and a devout Saiva. The unsettling of the arrangements
in Chidambaram, and the throwing out of the main image of
Govinda Raja into the sea were acts of desecration said to have
been brought about under the orders of this ruler, and the
circumstances are described to us in literature, contemporary
literature, that has come down to us. The Cholas were in the
habit of confirming their accession to the throne by having
themselves anointed in the coronation hall on the east bank
of the tank in the temple at Chidambaram, The story is that
when the anointing was over and the procession was formed
to start from the hall to go round the town, the elephants, the
horse and the foot soldiers of the court that had been drawn
up, along with the contingents brought by the subordinate
rulers, found too little room to move about, and finding that
there was such a crush in front of the Nataraja shrine on
account of this, the prince enquired what buildings they were
that obstructed the front yard of the court so badly. Being told
that it was the shrine of Govinda Raja lying there, he replied
smartly that the place for the lying of Vishnu was not the
INTRODUCTION 43
front yard of the temple of Nataraja, his favourite deity, but
the sea, and ordered therefore that the Vishnu image might
be cast into the sea. The order was probably carried out
literally. This could have been only somewhere about
A,D. 1135 or 1136, the year of accession of Kulottunga II.
Kulottunga I was not fanatical enough to do that for one
thing ; and he made actual grants and even detailed arrange-
ments regulating worship in respect of Srirangam about the
year A.D. 1084, even providing for the recital of the Pra-
bandhas of Kulasekara Alvar and Tirumangai Alvar. It would
be difficult to imagine that he was responsible for this desecra-
tion ; the more particularly in the face of the definite state-
ment in the works of Otta Kuttan, the poet who was the tutor
to Kulottunga Chola II as prince. This is one difficulty
which it seems almost impossible to get over. From certain
incidents related in the Itihasa Mala, it seems to be clear that
Ramanuja had already returned from the Mysore country
where he had to reside for over a quarter of a century because
of the offence that his principal disciple Kurattu Alvan gave
to the Chola ruler, and of Ramanuja having to go into exile as
a result thereof to save himself from being molested by the
Chola ruler for the time being. It is a well known fact, borne
out by dated inscriptions, that he was responsible for the
adoption of Vaishnavism by the Hoysala ruler Bitti Deva, who
ever afterwards adopted the style Vishnu Vardhana, although
the Kannada word Bitti is an actual Kannada form of the
Sanskrit Vishnu, But this Vishriu Vardhana did not come to
the throne till almost the end of the first decade of the 12th
century. The third ruler under reference is a Yadava Raja
whose invitation it was that brought Ramanuja to Tirupati fox*
the .second time and who afterwards rendered so much service
by assisting Ramanuja in carrying out his instructions with
respect to the temple at Tirupati as a local ruler responsible
for the ordering of the worship in the temple, There is so far
no inscriptional evidence for the existence of a Yadava Raja
so early, the earliest Yadava Raja figuring in inscriptions
coming almost about the end of the 12th century. But that is
not a very great bar and cannot constitute a vital objection as
there might have been Yadava Rajas ruling in the locality
44 SRIVENKATACHALA iTIHASAMALA
who might not have done anything which would ordinarily be
recorded in the inscriptions. The local rulers were known
Yadava Rajas as a family name, and we know of Yadava Rajas
who played important parts later. They must have had their
ancestors as local rulers without having achieved any distinc-.
tion to come down to us in inscriptions. It may be that the
traditional date for Ramanuja is pitched a little too early, and
a readjustment of the dates may be necessary. But that is a
question that cannot be definitely settled here and now.
Ramanuja's connection with Tirupati, however, need not
be rejected on that account. The territory dependent upon
Tirupati, as an important centre, had been brought under
Chola rule when the second Chola Aditya of the new dynasty
conquered the Tondamandalam and annexed it to the Chola
empire. Later inscriptions record that that Chola died at e
place called Tondaman Arrur, a place now in ruins on the
banks of the Svarnamukhi not far from Kalahasti, called
now Tondaman Nadu. There are inscriptions which name
this place Tondaman Perur or Tondaman Perarrur even.
Therefore the Chola power must have extended in reality to
this region pretty early on the establishment of the dynasty.
This Chola Aditya's dates would be the end of the 9th and the
initial years of the 10th century, as his successor Parantaka
came to the throne in A.D. 906. Aditya is said to have
built 300 temples to Siva on the banks of the Kaveri, clearly
indicating his enthusiasm for Siva worship and his personal
devotion to the promotion of Saivism. It would not be very
difficult to imagine that since then there had been a certain
amount of religious ferment, and if the Saivas made an effort
to gain the upper hand to set up Saivism as perhaps the domi-
nant religion, it would be nothing strange or even unnatural.
The period of the great Chola rulers culminating in that of
Rajaraja the Great, the builder of the temple at Tanjore, must
have been a period of Saiva propaganda, that is the, whole of
the 10th century with perhaps a decade or more of the previ-
ous century being included in it. It is not unlikely that at
some period, it must be in the latter half of the tenth century,
there was a squabble over the character of the temple at Ven-
katacnalam, and a dispute between the gaivas and the
INTRODUCTION 45
Vaishnavas might have come to a head calling for the inter-
vention of the Yadava Raja of Narayanavaram. Ramanuja's
intervention might have been sought by the Vaishnavas even
with the countenance of the Yadava Raja to settle the question.
The disputation that took place between Ramanuja and the
gaivas is given in full detail, and there is nothing in it that
could be cavilled at in respect of the sources quoted in au-
thority. Therefore Ramanuja's intervention in the affairs of
Tirupati seems natural enough, and all the arguments that
he adduced are arguments that are available for examination
today. Without going into unnecessary detail in regard to
this question Ramanuja's answers must be considered con-
clusive for the believing people. But for the more critical, and
to some extent unbelieving audience, the authorities quoted
may not be acceptable in their entirety. But the following
should ordinarily suffice. Be the form of the image what it
may, some peculiar features of the image are certainly noted
by the early Alvars themselves, these early Alvars and their
followers subsequently, none of them had the slightest doubt
that the shrine was a holy shrine of Vishnu, the peculiar fea-
tures notwithstanding. It is not merely the A]vars who have
held that view. The author of the Silappadhikaram, Ilango
Adigal, who was certainly not a Vaishnava, he was probably a
Buddhist, has simply no doubt that it was a Vishnu god in the
shrine there, and describes it in the most graphic language
so as to leave absolutely no doubt in regard to the matter.
Coming further down in point of time, the place was a well
recognised Vishnu shrine in the days of the later Pallavas, as
the Tamil Mahabharata by Perurhdevanar, a contemporary of
Nandivarman of Tellaru refers, in one stanza in the part of
the work that is available to us, that Vengadam. was a Vishnu
shrine. Therefore there is a continuous tradition from the
early centuries of the Christian era down to almost the 10th
century A.D. that the shrine was a Vishnu shrine notwith-
standing the peculiar features. The third stabaka o the work
most effectively disposes of the contention successively that the
figure' may be that of Subrahmanya, or Siva Mahadeva, or even
Harihara, A Rig Veda verse is quoted in authority for the
contention that the hill tops were sacred to Vishnu, The verse
46 SRIVfiNKATACHALA ITIHASAMALA
as interpreted by Ramanuja makes it refer to Tirupati itself,
But this need hardly be the case with Tirupati in particular,
the vedic verse meaning it generally in respect of hill tops.
That verse in the Rig Veda is reinforced by a passage in the
Yajur Veda which puts it in more unmistakable terms that
the governing deity of the hill region is Vishnu. It is probably
this Vedic idea that was at the root of the statement conveyed
in the Sutra of the Tolkappiyam that the mountain region of
land was a region sacred to Mdijon (Krishna- Vishnu) .
In regard to the rest of the work the details of organisa-
tion are probably correct as they do continue down to the
present times. A suspicion has been cast upon the work, that
it may be a modern composition foisted of course upon the
name of Anandalvar, the contemporary of Ramanuja, This
is quite possible; but the work itself does not make the
claim. A careful reading of the work does not show any-
thing in it that should make the work a modern composition
foisted upon an old name. There is nothing on the face of ii
to cast a suspicion upon the character of the work, and it
would be safer to hold the work genuine till we came upon
something precise which militates against that position, We
are content to leave it there for the moment and leave it to our
readers to judge for themselves whether the work is genuine
or spurious,
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
venkatachala ithihasa mala.Web
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