| According to the
legends, this temple is a sacred place in all the four yugas, and was known as
Vrishabhachala in the Krithayuga, Anjanachala in the Tretayuga, Seshachala in the
Dwaparayuga and Venkatachala in the present Kaliyuga. There is a beautiful legend that the
seven Tirupati hills represent the seven heads of Adisesha, Ahobalam, where Lord Narasimha
murthy is worshipped, representing the centre of Adisesha, and Srisailam representing the
tail end of Adisesha. One of the legends current at
the temple is that a contest once arose between Adisesha, the God of serpents, and Vayu,
and the God of winds. Lord Vayu tried as a part of the contest to blow out all the
thousand peaks of Meru Parvata but Lord Adisesha covered them with his thousand heads and
protected them. Lord Vayu being disappointed in his attempts to destroy the mount, feigned
exhaustion, and discontinued his blowing. Adisesha, thinking that all was safe, raised his
head, when Vayu once again blew out the peaks, one of which fell at the spot of
Venkatachala or Tirupati. This beautiful legend accounts for the connection of Tirupati
hills with the Meru Parvata, though geographically they are somewhat distant. |
