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Greatness of Srinivasa
Religious talks | Festivals
CHENNAI: Lord Srinivasa of
Tirumala is mentioned in 10 Puranas, said Velukkudi Krishnan. Lord Srinivasa
is known as the Lord of the Seven Hills, and there is a story behind each
sacred Hill. Lord Srinivasa Himself stands on the hill known as Venkatadri.
The Venkatadri hill is the hood of Adi Sesha. The story goes that there was
a contest between Adisesha and Vayu. Narada came to the scene of the contest
and played his veena. Distracted, Adisesha lifted his head for a fraction of
a second, and his head broke off to become the Venkatadri hill. Adisesha's
body became Ahobilam, and his tail Srisailam. There is no place equal to
Tirumala, which is referred to as Venkatam in the Tamil verses of the
Azhvars. Thirumangai Azhvar has written moving verses on the Lord of
Tirumala. Kulasekhara Azhvar went to the extent of saying that he would
rather be a fish in the ponds in Tirumala than a king with all the attendant
luxuries.
One of the Seven Hills is known as Anjanadri, for this is where Anjana Devi
performed penance, and was blessed with Anjaneya as her son.
Although it is Lord Srinivasa, who is known as the Lord of the Seven Hills,
long before Srinivasa took up His abode here, the Lord in the form of Varaha
had already taken up residence here. After rescuing the Earth, Varaha asked
Garuda to bring a hill called Kridachala from Vaikuntam, and appeared before
the celestials in all His glory. The Adi Varaha shrine on the banks of the
Swami Pushkarini is the one that devotees visit first even today, before
they proceed to the main temple, to offer worship to Lord Srinivasa. In the
Kali yuga, Lord Srinivasa married Padmavathi, the daughter of Akasaraja, who
was the king of the Tondaimandala region.
Describing Lord Srinivasa's mercy, the Vaishnavite Acharya Vedanta Desika
says the Lord is like sugarcane and his mercy (daya) is like the juice of
the sugarcane. It appears to the Acharya as if this juice had solidified
into the Tirumala Hill. Thus, the Hill itself is worthy of veneration, for
it is the crystallisation of the Lord's mercy. Among all the auspicious
qualities of the Lord, His quality of mercy stands out, for we are all in
need of His mercy.
( Courtesy: The Hindu )
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