Tirupati, a town in the Chittoor district of the South Indian state Andhra Pradesh is the most visited sacred center in India, witnessing more than one lakh devotees every day .The most sought after pilgrim destination where Lord Venkateshwara Swamy Temple is situated at a distance of 20kms and is the icon of Tirupati and of the entire state as well. Visiting Tirupati atleast once in a life time is believed to be a must for Vaishnavites across the globe. The nine feet idol which is the self- manifested form of Lord Vishnu will mesmerize you with its beauty and sanctity. This is the 106th Divya Desam mentioned in the holy canon of Vaishnavaites, Naalaayira Divya Prabhandam written by different saints between 6th and 8th AD and composed by the saint Naadha Muni The ravishing sculptures and the huge pillars along the long precincts make your trip to Tirupati most memorable one. It will be quite surprising to know that 50,000 to 1,00,000 people per day are visiting this temple making it to 30 to 40 million people annuallyThe huge dining halls where more than one lakh people are fed, the offerings making this temple the richest in the world, the laddu prasadham unique to this temple are some of the highlights of Tirupati.
During your trip to Tirupati, following are the must visit places.The Silathoranam Gardens – The natural hanging rocks believed to exist from the Precambrian era, Thiruchanur – The temple for the consort of Lord Venkateshwara , Goddess Padmavathy Thayar, Tada Falls – en route from Chennai to Tirupati, Sri kalahasthi – Lord Shiva temple, famous as one of the five Shiva temples representing the five elements of the universe and Sri Vaari Padham – the place believed to have the foot prints of Lord Venkateshwara.
The number of festivals celebrated in Tirupati temple is more than the number of days in a year. Lord Venkateswara blesses His devotees from 2.30 am to 1pm every day. On any day you go to the temple, one festival will be in progress in a pomp manner. To name a few, Srivaari Brahmothsavam, Vasanthothsavam , Dolothsavam and Rathothsavam are some of the festivals attended by lakhs of devotees. The temple practices include prasadam, Tonsuring, Hundi and Thulabaram.
Types of Darshans in Tirumala Tirupati:
As the crowd thronging the temple on all days of the year is unimaginably huge, the temple management has segregated the darshan into different streams. One of them is the Sarva Darshan , which means , Darshan for all. The pilgrims wait in long queues to have the glimpse of God and the timings for the Sarvadharshan are updated in the temple website. All the needed amenities for people waiting in queues are done in the compartments called Vaikuntam Queue Complex II. The Sarva dharshan is open for 18 to 20 hours a day and the devotees wait for many hours for their turn.
Arjitha sevas are the specific timings where the devotees prebook for their slots and attend the sevas. The daily, weekly and annual sevas are listed in the website and the tickets are sold by the temple management. Those who want to attend the sevas can follow the norms to buy the tickets.
Special Entry Dharshan is the stream where the devotees pay Rs.300 to go into a special queue. The time spent will be little less compared to the Sarva Dharshan but the devotees need to wait for hours in the queue on festival days.
South Tourism and Andhra Pradesh Development Corporation have entered into an agreement to reach more number of devotees aspiring to have the dharshan in quicker time spans. Through this, dharshan of Lord Venkateswara Swamy is guaranteed within two hours accompanied by a guide and two laddus are distributed per person after you come out. The procedure has been made simpler and to know more please visit https://www.southtourism.in/andrapradesh/temples/tirupati-tirumala