Tirupati: Tirupati celebrated its 894th birthday on Saturday, the day when the temple of the city’s presiding deity Lord Govindaraja Swamy was consecrated in 1130 AD Citizens congregated along the four Mada streets of Tirupati, commemorating the city's birthday on a grand scale. Sri Vaishnavite saint Bhagawad Ramanujacharya had consecrated the idol of Govindaraja Swamy inside the sanctum sanctorum on this day of the Hindu calendar in 1130 AD. On the same day, Ramanujacharya also established the Agraharam surrounding the temple for priests, who would perform Pujas to Lord Venkateswara on Tirumala.
Those days, priests used to walk up to Tirumala before sunrise and return by dusk to the Agraharam of Lord Govindaraja Swamy in Tirupati, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman and MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy said.
He disclosed that the earliest mention about the historical emergence of Tirupati is found on an inscription on the Gopuram of Govindaraja Swamy Temple. "Prior to Tirupati's creation, there was only Tirumala to the north and Tirusukanoor (Tiruchanoor) to the south. Since the priests trekked up the Tirumala hills daily, they had to have accommodation. Ramanujacharya laid the foundation stone for Govindaraja Swamy Temple and created the Agraharam for the purpose. This happened to be the first step that led to the building of Tirupati township,” Bhumana explained.
The TTD chief underlined that Tirupati is the only city in the world that knows its exact foundation day. “From now on, every year on February 24, we will celebrate the birthday of Tirupati. The event will be made part of the TTD calendar,” the devasthanam chairman said.
TTD executive officer A.V. Dharma Reddy said steps have been taken to beautify Tirupati on the lines of Tirumala. This is to ensure that spiritual joy encompasses the devotees visiting the Lord Venkateswara shrine from Tirupati itself.
To commemorate the day, TTD chairman flagged off the Shobhayatra after performing special pujas at the Govindaraja Swamy Temple. Earlier, Tirumala Pedda Jeeyar Swamy and Chinna Jeeyar Swamy offered prayers to statues of Sri Ramanuja inside Govindaraja Swamy Temple complex.
