This temple is in Thondamanadu, a small village ten kms away from Kalahasti and 28kms from Tirupati. The way to this temple is very confusing. No proper directions are seen on traffic boards. The road is full of potholes and bumps. Even when enquired, passersby did not give proper directions. The T.T.D. authorities may develop this road and give publicity as many devotees do not know that there is a temple here. When we went there, very few pilgrims are seen. When we enquired the priest, he said that many pilgrims visit this temple on Fridays and Saturdays.
This place
was once the capital of Thondaman Chakravarti, brother of Akasa Raju,
father-in-law of Lord Venkateswara. Thondaman built a temple on Tirumala hills
at the behest of the Lord Venkateswara. Daily he used to climb the hills to
worship the Lord. As he was becoming old, he was not able to go up the hill
every day. He felt sad and depressed. The Lord on noticing his plight Himself
appeared in Thondamanadu along with His two consorts and stayed here on the old
king’s request. Unlike in other temples, here Lord Venkateswara is seen in
sitting posture (sukhasina bhangima) with His consorts Sri devi and Bhu Devi,
on both sides. Nowhere we can see Lord in this posture in any other temple. The
Lord here is called “Veetilundarai Perumal”
According to
Sthala Puraana, after the demise of Akasa Raju, Vasu Dasa, Son of Akasa Raju
and Thondaman fought for the kingdom. Lord Venkateswara sided with his
brother-in-law but gave his discus and conch to Thondaman. Later Lord
Venkateswara brought peace between them. The kingdom was divided into two
parts. Narayanapuram (Narayanavanam) was given to Vasu Dasa and Thundeera Mandalam
was given to Thondaman. Thondaman built a big lotus-pond near this temple, and
water from Akasa Ganga and Kapileswra waterfalls flows into this pond.
This temple has a spacious compound. This temple is facing east. The main entrance or the Raja Gopuram has three tiers. One can see Dwhajasthambam Bali peetham, and the idol of Garudalwar. There are four mandapams inside; Mahamandamapam, Mukha mandapam, Antarala mandapam and Garbha griha. Two idols of Jaya and Vijaya are seen at the entrance of Grabha Griha. In the Garbha Griha, the idol of Venkateswara is seen in sitting posture with four hands holding conch, discus Yoga Mudra and Abhaya Hastha with Sri devi and Bhu devi sitting on either side. In the Antarala mandapam, one can see the Utsava Murties of Srinivasa with His two consorts, Sri Sita Ramalakshmana swamy with Sri Anjaneya, Sri Vishwaksena and the idol of Sri Ramanujacharya. People believe that by worshipping the Lord here, married couples will have a happy and harmonious life and that unmarried youth will get married soon.
According to
historical evidence this temple was re-constructed during 9th and 10th
centuries. The Vimana of this temple resembles the Vimana (Ananadanilayam) of the
Tirumala temple. Cholas, Pallavas and Vijayanagara kings worshipped this lord.
In 2008, the Tirmala Tirupati devastanam Board took over this temple and
developed it. After re-construction, Kumbhabhishekam was done in 2016. The
temple timings are from 6.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 4.00 p.m. to 8.00 p.m.
Every Friday Abhishekam is done to idols in the sanctum. Special poojas are
performed during Dhanurmasam and on Vaikunta Ekadashi.
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4th October, 2023 Somaseshu Gutala
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