Sri
Venkatachala Mahatmya is referred to in several Puranas,
of which the most important are the Varaha Purana and
the Bhavishyottara Purana.
The printed work contains extracts
from the Varaha Purana, Padma Purana, Garuda Purana,
Brahmanda Purana, Markandeya Purana, Harivamsa, Vamana
Purana, Brahma Purana, Brahmottara Purana, Aditya Purana,
Skanda Purana and Bhavishyottara Purana. Most of these
extracts describe the sanctity and antiquity of the
hills around Tirumala and the numerous teerthams situated
on them.
The legends taken from the Venkatachala
Mahatmya and the Varaha Purana, pertaining to the manifestation
of the Lord at Tirumala, are of particular interest.
According
to the Varaha Purana, Adi Varaha manifested Himself
on the western bank of the Swami Pushkarini, while Vishnu
in the form of Venkateswara came to reside on the southern
bank of the Swami Pushkarini.
One day, Rangadasa, a staunch devotee
of Vishnu, in the course of his pilgrimage, joined Vaikhanasa
Gopinatha, who was going up the Tirumala Hill for the
daily worship of Lord Venkateswara. After bathing in
the Swami Pushkarini, he beheld the lotus-eyed and blue-bodied
Vishnu beneath a tamarind tree. Vishnu was exposed to
the sun, wind and rain and was only protected by the
extended wings of Garuda.
Rangadasa was astounded by the wonderful
sight. He raised a rough wall of stones around the deity,
and started supplying flowers faithfully to Gopinatha
everyday for Vishnu's worship.
One day, Rangadasa was distracted
by a Gandharva king and his ladies. Consequently, he
forgot to supply flowers to Gopinatha for Vishnu's worship.
The Lord then revealed Himself and told Rangadasa that
He had been testing the latter's continence, but Rangadasa
had not been steadfast and had succumbed to temptation.
However, the Lord accepted and appreciated
Rangadasa's devoted service to Him till then, and blessed
Rangadasa that he would be reborn as an affluent ruler
of a province and would enjoy the earthly pleasures.
He would continue to serve the Lord, construct a beautiful
temple with a vimana and high surrounding walls,
and thereby earn eternal glory.
Rangadasa was reborn as Tondaman,
the son of the royal couple, Suvira and Nandini. Tondaman
enjoyed a pleasurable life as a young man. One day,
he set out on a hunting expedition on the Tirumala Hill,
and with the help of a forester, saw Vishnu under the
tamarind tree. Tondaman returned home, deeply affected
by the vision of Vishnu.
Tondaman later inherited his father's
kingdom, Tondamandalam. In accordance with the directions
given by Adi Varaha to a forester, Tondaman constructed
a prakaram and dvara gopura, and arranged
for regular worship of the Lord (according to Vaikhanasa
Agama).
In the Kali Yuga, Akasaraja came
to rule over Tondamandalam. His daughter Padmavathi
was married to Venkateswara. The marriage, officiated
by Brahma, was celebrated with great pomp and splendour.
Read more about
the legends
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