The Lord's toe that broke

The ongoing imbroglio over the formation of Telangana has disrupted normal life in Andhra Pradesh. It has also affected tourist and pilgrim flow to and from Andhra Pradesh and Tirumala-Tirupathi is no exception.

The temple town of Tirupathi is renowned for housing the richest temple in the world-now it is the second richest after Guravayoor. This is the temple of Srinivasa, Venkateshwara or Balaji.

The temple is the life and soul of  Indians and any event or happening is not only national but also international news. However, one sad event that occurred at the abode of the Lord of Seven Hills but this has not received adequate attention and perhaps one of the reasons is the Telangana issue.

What happened has left the devotes and the orthodox shocked.  
The left big toe of the revered holy feet of Lord Venkateswara at Srivari Padalu, which is about 7 kilometres from the main temple that houses the deity of Srinivasa, came apart.

TTD officials believe that  breaking of coconuts by devotees could have damaged the toe. A day after the incident came to light, the TTD took up patch work and posted security at the place

The Srivari Padalu is believed to be the very place where Lord Venkateswara first landed from Vaikuntam in search of his abode, which is now the sanctum santorum of the Balaji temple.

It is one of the holiest of the places of worship atop Tirumala and it is here that the feet are worshipped. It is situated a little ahead of the Sila Thoranam or naturally formed geological stone arch at Tirumala.

It is known as the first foot step of the lord which he set on this piece of earth. The foot marks are visible and the direction of the feet points towards the new sanctum sanctorum of the Srinivasa Temple.

The Srivari Padalu is the highest hill top among the seven hills and it offers a spectacular view of  Tirupathi and surroundings of Tirumala. This is Naraynadri or the Hill of Narayana. This is one of the few places where TTD buses or transport do not operate. So, we  have to either walk or take our own transport. You can also walk on the paved stairs to reach this place as there is no other alternative.
There is a tree nearby where people tie threads so that their wishes get fulfilled. Some people leave their visiting cards of business for growth and prosperity.

Photography is allowed here and there are no charges. 

This strike even affects God

The ongoing (disturbed) political situation in Andhra Pradesh seems to have not only led to an upheaval in the lives of  people there but it has also affected the Gods living in the State. Andhra Pradesh is in turmoil and the Samaikyandhra agitation by the people is against the decision of the Congress led UPA Government at the Centre to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh.
Vehicles going to and coming from Tirupathi has come down alarmingly and though there are no major incidents of arson or disturbances, road and rail services have been hit.

This has resulted in a drop in the number of pilgrims visiting Tirupathi. There is today less queue at Tirupathi and the waiting times has slashed considerably. Even free darshan is available without much ado.

Generally, people have to wait anywhere from twelve to fifteen hours for a darshan of Srinaivasa or Balaji. Now, the wait is just a few hours and almost all seves are easily available and all entry posts less crowded.

Rooms and hotels are less crowded in the temple town and tickets for various seves are more easily available. The daily hundi  or offering box collection at the temple has reduced. The hundi collections during the last month was much less than the normal Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.6 crore a day in cash donation.

Nowadays, the hundi collection is anywhere between Rs. 60 lakh to Rs 1 crore. The collection on weekends has also seen a drop and it stands at Rs 1.6 crore to Rs. 2 crore a day and this is a fairly drastic fall from about Rs. 2 crore to Rs.2.5 crore reported or rather counted every day.

The daily offerings of gold, silver and other precious items such as diamonds has also seen a decrease though they are yet to be enumerated. The TTD has a system of  counting the cash collection on a daily basis. The calculation of the non-cash items happens once in three months or at the TTD’s convenience and these include gold, jewellery, diamond and other articles .
One of the main reasons for the drop in arrivals at Tirupathi is the decision of employees of Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation to go on strike against the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, which was first announced in July-end. The strike has affected bus services to the temple town and pilgrims and visitor numbers have fallen from 60,000 to 70,000 persons a day to 40,000 a day. In an year, the annual footfalls is anywhere between 2.5 crores to 3 crores.

However, people still continue to visit the pilgrim town as more than 50 per dent of the visitors are those who use private vehicles, mainly cars, tempos and private buses.  

TTD figures show that 60 per cent of the pilgrims who view Srinivasa avail free darshan facility with 16 per cent opting for the Rs 50 Sudarshan token. Pilgrims of Rs 300 Pratyeka Pravesha (special entry) darshan stand third at 13 per cent. Apart from them, there are seven lakh seva ticket holders, 7.5 lakh physically challenged persons and four lakh parents of infants, besides seven lakh VIP Break darshan ticket holders and they constitute the remaining 3 per cent.

All these people have to view the Lord in a day between 19 to 20 hours and on some days it falls to 14 hours on account of special rituals and sevas.
Incidentally, last Friday, Tirupati reverberated with slogans of  Jai Samaikhyandhra as more than 10,000 employees of TTD took out a massive rally. This is the first time in the 80-year-old history of the TTD that 5,000 of its employees went on mass leave and the rest joined in the protests. Besides, students and faculty members of various TTD-run educational institutions also took part in the rally.

However, the TTD has come to the rescue of pilgrims visiting Tirumala. It has pressed into service its own fleet of Dharma Ratham buses to ferry pilgrims from the Tirupati railway station to Alipiri, the foot of Tirumala hills.

When hotels and eateries remained closed for two days during the strike call, the TTD arranged breakfast and lunch for the visitors alighting at the railway station and also at Alipiri. The TTD provided upma, sambar rice and curd rice to 45,000 persons and served milk to 16,000 visitors on Friday last.

Chief Vigilance and Security Officer G.V.G. Ashok Kumar was seen personally serving milk to the devotees who climbed the hill on foot.

The TTD operated 500 trips with the 16 buses between the two points in the city, transporting 35,000 passengers.

However, the strike has not affected Mantralaya as it borders Karnataka and many people go to the temple town from Raichur side.

The bearded Hanuman

The Hanuman here is round faced and he has a beard and moustache too. He is not called Hanuman but Balaji, which generally means Srinivasa or Venkataramana.

The temple to Hanuman too is known not by his name but as Balaji. The temple has some unique customs that is not found anywhere else.

This is perhaps the only temple where food is offered to the deity in kilograms and this ritual is called Savamani. The word Sava means one and a quarter and Mun means Maund and this is a unit of mass measuring 40 kilograms. Thus, Savamani means 50 kgs and this quantity of food is offered to Hanuman.

The food is generally prepared by the temple cooks and we have to intimate the temple authorities before hand about the Savamani. The Savamani is prepared in the temple kitchen but in recent years, the heavy demand has led the temple authorities to outsource it.

So we, have several caterers and shop keepers in and around the temple offering Savamani to pilgrims. Food items like Boondi, Ladu, Peda, Baati, Dal, Churma are generally prepared as Savamani.

After the Savamani is offered to Hanuman, it is later used by the family which organized it.    

Another widespread ritual is the tying of coconuts with moli (sacred red threads) in the temple premises. Devottes believe that Hanuman would fulfill their wishes if this is done with devotion and faith. This practice originated by from the Jagirdar of Sikar,  Rao Raja Devi Singh.

The Jagirdar did not have a son. He heard about the Balaji temple and he came here, tied a coconut on a tree and went back. Ten months later, he was blessed with a son, Rao Raja Laxman Singh.

This unique temple is called the Salasar Balaji or the Salasar Dham and it is located on highway no 65 near Sujangarh in Churu district of Rajasthan.

The presiding deity here is Hanuman who is better known as Balaji and his face is round unlike Hanuman in other temples.

Over the years, this temple has grown to become one of the most prominent pilgrim centres of Rajasthan. Salasar Balaji is on the religious circuit that includes the pilgrim centers of Rani Sati temple and the temple of Khatushyamji both of which are nearby.

Salasar Balaji is now considered to be a Shakti Sthal (a place of power) and the Hanuman as swayambhu (self creation).

Several miracles are ascribed to the deity.

The idol is worshipped by Brahmin priests from the Dadhich clan and the temple is managed and maintained by the Hanuman Sewa Samiti Trust.

The temple is open from 4 a.,m, to 10 p.m., and on Hanuman Jayanti it remain open throughout.

Salasar is situated on the Jaipur-Bikaner highway and it is 40 kms  from Ladnun,  57 kms from Sikar, 24 kms from Sujangarh and 30 kms  from Laxmangarh.

Salasar is about four hours drive from Jaipur.