“Dwaraka Tirumala” is an ancient
holy place and a popular pilgrim center in Andhra Pradesh of South India.
Dwaraka Tirumala is nearer to 'Eluru', the head quarters of West Godavari
District, which is 42 KM away from Eluru. Dwaraka Tirumala is situated at 15KM
distance from Bhimadole Junction, which is in between Vijayawada and
Rajahmundry State Highway and Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam main Railway line.
Sthala Puranam :
This pilgrimage centre is called
"Dwaraka Tirumala" after the great saint, "Dwaraka" who
located the self manifested idol of Lord "Sri Venkateswara" after
severe penance in a ‘Valmikam’ (ant hill). The devotees call Sri Venkateswara
as Kaliyuga Vaikunta Vasa. This place is also called “Chinna Tirupati”.
As per Sastras North Indian rivers like
Ganges and Yamuna are considered to be more and more holy as they go up to the
origin and south Indian rivers like Krishna and Godavary are more and more holy
as they go down the river to its mouth to the Sea. It is why there are numerous
shrines and holy bathing ghats, at close intervals, on both sides of the great
grand rivers Krishna and Godavary in their lower regions.
The region covered by our Dwaraka
Tirumala is commanding the top most conspicuous position in India, being
garlanded by these two great Indian rivers Krishna and Godavary, as pointed out
by Brahma Purana.
The devotees who wish to go and offer
their donations, or tonsures or any other offerings to Lord Venkateswara, Lord
of Tirumala Tirupati, called as “Pedda Tirupati”, due to some reason, if they
are unable to go there, they can offer their donations, prayers and worship in
Dwaraka Tirumala temple.
Dwaraka Tirumala is a famous temple
from the ancient times. According to some Puranas, the temple is popular even
in Kruta yuga and is still attracting the devotees. According to Brahma Purana,
Aja Maharaja, the Grand father of Lord Sri Rama also worshiped Lord Venkateswara
for his marriage. On his way to the ‘Swayamvaram’ of Indumati, he passed by the
temple. He did not offer prayers in the temple. The bride Indumati garlanded
him, but he had to face a battle with the kings who came to the Swayamvaram. He
realized that the battle was thrust on him for ignoring the temple on the way.
After realizing this, Aja Maharaja prayed to the Lord Venkateswara. Suddenly
the kings stopped the battle.
It is a great wonder to see two main
idols under one Vimana Sikharam. One idol is a full and complete statue. The
other is a half statue of the upper portion of the form of the Lord. The upper
potion of the form is a self-manifested idol located by Sage
"Dwaraka". The saints of the yore felt the prayers to the Lord are not
complete without worshipping His holy feet. So, the saints joined together and
installed a full statue behind the self-manifested idol, to worship the feet of
the Lord according to Vaikhanasa Agamam.
It is believed that the prayers to the
smaller statue of the Lord will lead to Moksha, and the big form stands for
Dharma, Artha and Kama. The Tiru kalyanotsavam is celebrated twice a year. One
for the self manifested idol in the month of “Vaisakha” and the other for
the installed idol in the month of “Aswayuja”.
Magnificience of the
sanctum sanctorum:
On entering the sanctum sanctorum, one
feels a most inspiring and enchanting experience. The presiding mythological
deity Lord Venkateswara is visible upto the Bust size and the lower portion is
imagined to be in the earth. The holy feet are said to be offered to Bali
Chakravarthi in “Patala” for his daily worship. The full size idol of Lord Sri
Venkateswara standing at the back of the main idol is said to have been
installed by the great social reformer Srimad Ramanuja of the 11 th century.
The idols of Padmavathi and Nanchari are installed in the Arthamandapa facing
east. This is a full equipped shrine to be a Divyasthala.
Combination of Siva and
Vishnu on Adisesha:
The most peculiar aspect here is that
the hill appearing to be a serpant in form, even to the naked eye, confirms the
mythological version that Anantha, the serpant king has taken up this
terrestial form of serpant hill and is carrying God Mallikarjuna on the hood
and Lord Venkateswara on the tail, thus creating a happy and harmonious
compromise of Vaishnavism and Saivism at a single place.
Renovation and origin
of the present structure:
The magnificent monuments like, Vimana,
Mantapa, Gopura, Prakara etc., stand to the credit of Dharma Appa Raoa recent
ruler (1762 – 1827) and the golden ornaments and silver vahanas stand to the
credit of the generous queen Rani Chinnamma Rao of Mylavaram, Krishna Dist.
(1877 – 1902). These things immortalize the glory of the shrine.
The main temple is a masterpiece of South Indian Architecture with its
five-storied main Rajagopuram facing the south and three other gopurams on the
other three sides. The Vimana is in the Nagara style and old Mukhamantapa is
extended to a great extent to suit the present day needs. There are several
temples of Alwars attached to the Prakara on all sides. The whole spacious
compound has been paved with stone and flower trees are grown in an order as if
to feast the eye of the pilgrims.
