Lord venkateswara has taken loan from the god of riches kubera so much money for his marriage and pledged that he would be paying off the interest on the loan from the collections of tirupati t
emple. So, if you pray to Him that you will offer some portion of the money from the doubtful deal , you may get it in such a way that it was possible only through his help and grace. So the devotee , who got such a benefit come and secretly drops millions of money in the donation box. This became a regular feature which became common to common man. But, we have to analyze and learn some thing from this. Though religious gurus say this is not possible, Lord venkateswara, or Tirupathi balaji likes to help his devotees in their business deals . This is possible only through the form of Lord venkateswara of Tirupathi and he is pleased when they visit Him and pay off his portion. No body can command God to be like this way or that way. We have to observe what is happening around and learn about His ways.This balaji temple is in Tirupathi, andhra pradesh, India. It is Vatican city of Hindu religion.
emple. So, if you pray to Him that you will offer some portion of the money from the doubtful deal , you may get it in such a way that it was possible only through his help and grace. So the devotee , who got such a benefit come and secretly drops millions of money in the donation box. This became a regular feature which became common to common man. But, we have to analyze and learn some thing from this. Though religious gurus say this is not possible, Lord venkateswara, or Tirupathi balaji likes to help his devotees in their business deals . This is possible only through the form of Lord venkateswara of Tirupathi and he is pleased when they visit Him and pay off his portion. No body can command God to be like this way or that way. We have to observe what is happening around and learn about His ways.This balaji temple is in Tirupathi, andhra pradesh, India. It is Vatican city of Hindu religion.Bawaji's story
There was one devotee by name, Bawaji, living on the seven hills, near Tirumala Temple long long ago. Lord Venkateswara used to visit Bawaji's place quite often, to play 'paachikalu' (a kind of dice-game). As usual, the Lord one night, after ekantha seva, came to play the game with Bawaji. Before starting the game, the Lord placed the bracelet of His right hand beside Him. Bawaji played the game the whole night with the Lord. It was the time for Suprabhata Seva and the temple bells rang for awakening the Lord. Sri Venkateswara, till then playing paachikalu with Bawaji, was alerted; and rushed back to the temple. The Lord forgets to wear His bracelet (really?) in that rush.
During Suprabhata Seva, the chief priest of the temple observed one of the bracelets to be missing and sounded alert around. In the morning, Bawaji having noticed the Lord's bracelet rushed to the temple to give it back to Him. On the way, the temple priests found the bracelet in Bawaji's hands and he was immediately imprisoned. The case came for trial before the king. Bawaji explained everything to the king. Disbelieved, the king made fun of the story and threw a challenge on Bawaji to prove his innocence. The challenge was: Bawaji was to be able to crush and eat a very large heap of sugarcane placed inside his prison, before dawn, to prove his innocence. Otherwise, he would be deemed to have been the thief of the Lord's bracelet.
That night, Bawaji said just these few words in his heart: "Oh Lord, I have played pachikalu with you that night, You too know that I am not the thief. Then, why should I worry?" And he went to sound sleep.
It was the test for the Lord to prove His devotee's innocence. He had to rush to the prison to rescue His devotee. The Lord assumed Himself an elephant, crushed and ate all that huge heap of sugarcase lying in Bawaji's prison before sunrise.
In the morning, Bawaji was again before the king for trial. Voila! The crushed remains of sugarcane were found in his prison. The king in amazement asked Bawaji an explanation. Bawaji smiled, "would you now believe me if I say that the Lord came as an elephant and ate all that?". The king realised and sought Bawaji's forgiveness.
[There is a beautiful painting of the Lord with Bawaji playing the game, on the wall near the temple. This painting can be viewed from where the devotees stand in queue outside the temple premises.] MODERN HISTORY:
Rulers of several South India have paid homage to Lord Sri Venkateswara and patronised the ancient temple.
The Pallavas of Kancheepuram (about 9th Century A.D.), the Cholas of Thanjavur (about a Century later), the Pandyas of Madurai and the kings and chieftains of Vijayanagar (during the 14th & 15th Centuries AD) were devotees of the Lord. It was also said that they competed with one another in patronising and endowing the shrina with valuable offerings and contributions.
The later years were different. It was only during the great Vijayanagara Empire that the contributions to the temple increased manifold. Sri Krishnadevaraya is believed to possess the shrine in his kingdom.
Even after the decline of the Vijayanagar dynasty, nobles and chieftains from all parts of the Country continued to pay their homage and offer gifts to the temple shrine.
The General of the Maratha kingdom, Raghoji Bhonsle, also visited the temple and set up a permanent endowment for the conduct of worship in the Temple. He also presented valuable jewels to the Lord, including a large Emerald which is still preserved in a box named after the General.
Also among the later rulers who have endowed large amounts were the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal.
After the fall of the Hindu Kingdoms, the Muslim rulers of Karnataka, later the British took over, and many of the temples came under their supervisory and protective control.
In 1843 A.D., the East India Company divested itself of the direct management of Non-Christian places of worship and native religious institutions. The administration of the shrine of Sri Venkateswara and a number of estates were then entrusted to Sri Seva Dasji of the Hatiramji Mutt at Tirumala and the temple remained under the administration of these Mahants till 1933 A.D.
In 1933, the Madras Legislature passed a special Act, which empowered the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Committee to control and administer a fixed group of temples in the Tirumala-Tirupati area through a Commissioner appointed by the Government of Madras.
In 1951, the Act of 1933 was replaced by an enactment whereby the administration of TTD was entrusted to a Board of Trustees, and an Executive Officer was appointed by the Government . On the re-organisation of States on linguistic basis, a separate State for Telugu speaking people was formed and the Government of Andhra Pradesh has took over the Administration of the temple through this Board. The chairman and members of the Board are nominated by the Endowments Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.The provisions of the Act of 1951 were retained by Charitable and Religious Endowments Act, 1966.
There was one devotee by name, Bawaji, living on the seven hills, near Tirumala Temple long long ago. Lord Venkateswara used to visit Bawaji's place quite often, to play 'paachikalu' (a kind of dice-game). As usual, the Lord one night, after ekantha seva, came to play the game with Bawaji. Before starting the game, the Lord placed the bracelet of His right hand beside Him. Bawaji played the game the whole night with the Lord. It was the time for Suprabhata Seva and the temple bells rang for awakening the Lord. Sri Venkateswara, till then playing paachikalu with Bawaji, was alerted; and rushed back to the temple. The Lord forgets to wear His bracelet (really?) in that rush.
During Suprabhata Seva, the chief priest of the temple observed one of the bracelets to be missing and sounded alert around. In the morning, Bawaji having noticed the Lord's bracelet rushed to the temple to give it back to Him. On the way, the temple priests found the bracelet in Bawaji's hands and he was immediately imprisoned. The case came for trial before the king. Bawaji explained everything to the king. Disbelieved, the king made fun of the story and threw a challenge on Bawaji to prove his innocence. The challenge was: Bawaji was to be able to crush and eat a very large heap of sugarcane placed inside his prison, before dawn, to prove his innocence. Otherwise, he would be deemed to have been the thief of the Lord's bracelet.
That night, Bawaji said just these few words in his heart: "Oh Lord, I have played pachikalu with you that night, You too know that I am not the thief. Then, why should I worry?" And he went to sound sleep.
It was the test for the Lord to prove His devotee's innocence. He had to rush to the prison to rescue His devotee. The Lord assumed Himself an elephant, crushed and ate all that huge heap of sugarcase lying in Bawaji's prison before sunrise.
In the morning, Bawaji was again before the king for trial. Voila! The crushed remains of sugarcane were found in his prison. The king in amazement asked Bawaji an explanation. Bawaji smiled, "would you now believe me if I say that the Lord came as an elephant and ate all that?". The king realised and sought Bawaji's forgiveness.
[There is a beautiful painting of the Lord with Bawaji playing the game, on the wall near the temple. This painting can be viewed from where the devotees stand in queue outside the temple premises.] MODERN HISTORY:
Rulers of several South India have paid homage to Lord Sri Venkateswara and patronised the ancient temple.
The Pallavas of Kancheepuram (about 9th Century A.D.), the Cholas of Thanjavur (about a Century later), the Pandyas of Madurai and the kings and chieftains of Vijayanagar (during the 14th & 15th Centuries AD) were devotees of the Lord. It was also said that they competed with one another in patronising and endowing the shrina with valuable offerings and contributions.
The later years were different. It was only during the great Vijayanagara Empire that the contributions to the temple increased manifold. Sri Krishnadevaraya is believed to possess the shrine in his kingdom.
Even after the decline of the Vijayanagar dynasty, nobles and chieftains from all parts of the Country continued to pay their homage and offer gifts to the temple shrine.
The General of the Maratha kingdom, Raghoji Bhonsle, also visited the temple and set up a permanent endowment for the conduct of worship in the Temple. He also presented valuable jewels to the Lord, including a large Emerald which is still preserved in a box named after the General.
Also among the later rulers who have endowed large amounts were the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal.
After the fall of the Hindu Kingdoms, the Muslim rulers of Karnataka, later the British took over, and many of the temples came under their supervisory and protective control.
In 1843 A.D., the East India Company divested itself of the direct management of Non-Christian places of worship and native religious institutions. The administration of the shrine of Sri Venkateswara and a number of estates were then entrusted to Sri Seva Dasji of the Hatiramji Mutt at Tirumala and the temple remained under the administration of these Mahants till 1933 A.D.
In 1933, the Madras Legislature passed a special Act, which empowered the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Committee to control and administer a fixed group of temples in the Tirumala-Tirupati area through a Commissioner appointed by the Government of Madras.
In 1951, the Act of 1933 was replaced by an enactment whereby the administration of TTD was entrusted to a Board of Trustees, and an Executive Officer was appointed by the Government . On the re-organisation of States on linguistic basis, a separate State for Telugu speaking people was formed and the Government of Andhra Pradesh has took over the Administration of the temple through this Board. The chairman and members of the Board are nominated by the Endowments Department of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.The provisions of the Act of 1951 were retained by Charitable and Religious Endowments Act, 1966.
