Om! Gam! Ganapathaye! Namaha! Om! Sri Raghavendraya Namaha! Om! Namo! Bhagavathe! Vaasudevaaya! Om! Ham! Hanumathe!

Sri Rama Doothaaya Namaha!

Sri Padmavathi Srinivaasa Kalyaanam

(Vaisaakha Sukla Dasami) We come across several divine festivals and events during the sacred month of Vaisakha maasam starting from Akshaya Thrutheeya but, one such very sacred and celestial event that does not figure in the Hindu calendar (except in TTDs) is Vaisakha Sukla Dasami; the day divine marriage of Lord Srinivaasa (Venkateswara) and Goddess Padmavathi Devi took place. It is rather surprising how this celestial episode of the Lord of the Universe has missed out the attention of Panchaanga Karthas. In fact, this event of the divine marriage forms the basis for the Supreme Lord Vishnu to manifest at Tirumala hills in this Kaliyuga. For making this event happen Lord Vishnu is said to have come down to the earth from his abode Vaikunta after having a wrangle (Leela of the Lord) with his consort Goddess Maha Lakshmi. He took the form of Srinivasa and settled down at Aananda Nilaya on top of Tirumala Hills called Venkataadri also known as Venkataachala after getting married with Goddess Padmavathi Devi. Lets try to get acquainted with its niceties and its significance. Who is Lord Srinivaasa? Sreenivasa is one of the several thousand names of Lord Maha Vishnu. In Sri Vishnu Sahasranaama Stothram we find a reference to the word Srinivaasa in sloka # 65. Sri means Goddess Lakshmi; Nivaasa means the (abode) residence. Srinivaasa means; the one (Goddess Lakshmi) who always dwells (nithya-anapaayani) in the (Hrudaya)

chest of Lord Vishnu inseparably poised; the one who (Lord Vishnu) is the abode for Goddess Lakshmi Devi. He (Srinivaasa) is the Lord of Goddess Lakshmi. Bhoothaavaaso Giraavaasah Srinivaasah Sriyah Pathih Achyutha-anantha-Govindo VishnurVenkatanaayakah He (Lord Srinivaasa) is the one in whom everything rests; entire universe itself is indweller in Him; the One who lives on the mountain (Venkataadri); He (Srinivaasa) is the Lord and consort of Goddess Lakshmi who always rests in His Hrudaya; He is the One who is indestructible; imperishable; One who is all pervasive, eternal, beyond all boundaries; for whom there is no limit either by space, time or location; one who has infinite number of forms; He dwells in the entire Universe; He is invincible and omnipresent. He is the One who helps us to survive and surmount the earthly existence and reach Supreme realization of the Self. He is the guardian of the Earth; the protector of Vedas; who is eulogized by Vedas.

He is Lord Vishnu; the one who dwells in each and every element of this universe and everything dwells in Him. Matchless in excellence He is the primordial supreme Lord; the mega spirit; pervades the many, various and different objects of three Universes and the three worlds of souls. Lasting as inner soul of every being; He is the Lord of Venkataadri hills His abode in this Kaliyuga; He is (Sri + Nivaasa) Srinivaasa.

Venkataadrisamam Sthaanam Brahmaande Naasthi Kinchana Venkatesasamo Devo Na Bhootho Na Bhavishyathi In this Universe there is no other sacred place equivalent to Venkataadri (Tirumala); there is no God equivalent to Lord Venkateswara neither in the past nor in the future going to be. Above verses are from Sri Venkatesa Stothram an extract from Brahmaanda Purana as a dialogue between Lord Brahma and Sage Naarada; stands as a testimonial and adds to the glory; origin and significance of Lord Srinivasa (Venkateswara). For full text of Sri Venkatesa Stothram please click on the following link

Sri Venkatesha Sthothram (Brahmanda Purana)

Reciting above prayer Stothra on Lord Sri Venkateshwara daily three times is highly meritorious that will ward off the evil effects one is facing in this Kaliyuga. In simple, He is none other than Lord SriManNarayana; Sri Hari (Harey! Srinivaasa); Maha Vishnu; the house hold deity; whose glory and reference we find in as many as twelve Puraanaas the consolidation of which is called Sri Venkataachala Mahaatmya. There are several stories about the Lord (Srinivaasa) at Tirumala Hills who is believed to be in existence since time immemorial. He is in Archaavathaara (worshipable form), Swayam Vyaktha (self manifested), will be present in Aananda Nilayam (present abode of the Lord) till end of Kaliyuga protecting Dharma and humanity from the evils of Kaliyuga. It is believed that He will be present on Earth in every Kaliyuga. Tirumala the abode of Lord Venkateswara is Kaliyuga Bhuu-Vaikuntam. Kruthethu Naarasimho Bhoo Trethayaam Raghunandana Dwaapare Vaasudevascha Kalau Venkatanaayaka! In Krutha Yuga, Lord Naarasimha; in Tretha Yuga, Lord Sri Raama; in Dwaapara Yuga, Lord Sri Krushna and in Kaliyuga, Lord Venkateswara (Srinivaasa) are known as Prathyaksha Dhaivams (perceivable Deities). Lord Venkateswara is the presiding deity of Kaliyuga Kalau Venkatanaayaka. Is it possible for any one to describe Lord Srinivaasa (Venkateswara) in this Universe? Even Lord Brahma cannot and could not do it. His glory is infinite. He is highly meritorious among the meritorious. No one can describe or define Him precisely. It will be an exaggeration if one has not heard/known Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala; also called Srinivaasa.

Preamble to the Divine Marriage At the end of Dwaapara Yuga (Sri Krishna Avathaara) when eminent Rushis were performing (Yajna) sacred rituals; Sage Naarada comes there and asks them to whom they are offering its (Yajna-phala) fruits, for which the sages had no answer. On the advice of Sage Naarada, all the sages requests and appoints Brugu Maharshi to go round the Universe to find out the fittest God who is also possessed with saattvik qualities for offering the fruits of sacred rituals. In the process, sage Brugu visits Brahma Loka and Kailasa and finds that they are not competent for receiving the Yajna-phala since they have Rajo and Tamo qualities. Finally, the sage visits Vaikunta the abode of Lord Vishnu who was with his consort Goddess Lakshmi and who did not notice the Sages visit. In his fit of anger, sage Brugu kicks Lord Vishnu on His chest with his (Brugu) leg. Being saattvik in nature, Lord Vishnu did not get angry or offended with this incident; instead pleaded guilty with the sage for having not noticed the Sages visit. Pleased with the gesture of Lord Vishnu sage Brugu declares Him (Lord Vishnu) as the Supreme God and the fittest person to receive the fruits of the (Yagna phala) sacred rituals. In the process, Goddess Lakshmi whose abode is Lord Vishnus (Hrudaya) chest deemed to have also received the punch. She becomes very angry and furious with Lord Vishnu for his gesture towards the sage and after a brief argument leaves Vaikunta and reaches Kariveerapuram (present Kolhapur) and starts doing penance. Very much upset with the incident and unable to bear the detachment with Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu begins vigorous search for Goddess Lakshmi and in the process comes down to (Bhooloka) the Earth. During the course of His search for Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Vishnu reaches Tirumala Hills and start living there in the name Srinivaasa under the nursing and care of Vakula Devi. During one of His outing He (Lord Srinivaasa) happened to see the Princess of that place Padmavathi Devi and falls in love with her and wanted to marry her. What was Lords objective behind this divine marriage? Main objectives of the supreme Lord (Vishnu) behind this marriage were; we find a reference in Bhavishyottara Purana... To fulfill the commitment made during His incarnation of Sri Raama Avathara to marry Vedavathi; To fulfill the commitment made during His Sri Krishna Avathara to His foster mother Yasoda Devi to get married in her presence;

 Last but most important; Loka Kalyaanaartham; to protect Dharma; for the welfare and well being of the world; to protect His devotees during Kaliyuga from the evils of Kali by residing on top of the Venkataadri hills; Who is Goddess Padmavathi Devi? Goddess Padmavathi was daughter (foster) of Aakaasaraja and Dharani Devi. The Royal Couple had no children and Padmavathi Devi was found on a Lotus flower while ploughing the (Yajna) sacrificial ground. Since she was found among the Lotus (Padma) petals she was named Padmavathi. Aakasa Raaja was ruling a Kingdom with Narayanapuram (present Narayanavanam) as its capital. He belongs to the Lunar Dynasty (Chandra Vamsa) and in his previous birth he was a Brahmin by name Maadhava. His younger brother was Thondamanu Chakravarthi who went on to become a great devotee of Lord Sri Venkateswara. In her previous birth in Tretha Yuga, Padmavathi Devi was none other than Vedavathi (daughter of sage Kusadhwaja) who had a strong desire to marry Lord Vishnu and also did lot of penance to marry Him. But before her desire could get fulfilled she had to go in to the captivity of Raavanaasura as Maaya Seeta in lieu of Goddess Seetha Devi as per the Divine trick played on Raavanaasura. As a gratitude for Vedavathis help; Lord Sri Rama was requested to marry her so also to fulfill Vedavathis desire to marry Lord Vishnu. Since Lord Sri Rama (Lord Vishnu) was committed to only one wife (eka-pathni vratha) during his life time He refused the proposal. However, He (Lord Sri Raama) promised to fulfill the desire in Kaliyuga in His (Vishnu) avathara as Srinivasa when Vedavathi would take birth as Padmavathi. This is said to be one of the purposes of Lord's incarnation in Kaliyuga for the fulfillment of the promise He made to marry Vedavathi. Incidentally Padmavathi also fell in love with Srinivasa and the divine marriage took place after initial hiccups which got resolved by the intervention of the Lord (Srinivaasa) himself in the guise of a tribal foreteller (Erukala-saani) and through the negotiations by Vakuladevi. Who is Vakula Devi? Vakula Devi the care taker under whose nursing and care Lord Srinivaasa was residing before His marriage with Goddess Padmavathi Devi was none other than Yasoda Maata (foster mother of Lord Sri Krishna) in Dwaapara Yuga. It is said that Yasoda Maata had no opportunity to perform or witness even a single marriage of Lord Sri Krishna which she very much desired to. In order to fulfill her desire, Lord Sri Krishna is said to have given her a boon that, in His (Lord Vishnu) Kaliyuga
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Avathara as Srinivaasa, His marriage would get performed with her (Yasoda Maata/Vakula Devi) involvement and contribution. Accordingly she (Yasoda Maata/Vakula Devi) only negotiated for the marriage of Lord Srinivasa and Goddess Padmavathi that was performed in her presence. What was the Debt of Lord Srinivasa (Venkateswara)? At the time of marriage it is said that Lord Srinivasa had no money with Him for his marriage expenses. Symbolically this indicates due to the detachment of Sri (Goddess Lakshmi) from Srinivaasa (Vishnu). In order to meet the expenses the Lord had to incur a debt; taken from the divine cashier Kubera and executed a promissory note in his own hand as per the Kali Yuga Dharma. It is said that the amount borrowed was to the tune of 14 lakhs Nishkamas (currency) having the symbol of Lord Sri Rama repayable with interest at the end of Kaliyuga. Witnesses for the debt were, Lord Brahma; Lord Shiva and the sacred Tree Aswatta Vruksha. It is said that the script regarding this is available in Bhavishyottara Purana (11th chapter). Sri Padmavathi Srinivaasa Kalyaanam Marriage of Goddess Padmavathi and Lord Srinivasa took place in a grand manner in the presence of all the deities, sages, Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva. The divine marriage known as Padmavathi Srinivasa Kalyaanam is said to have taken place on Friday, Dasami thithi (10th day) of the Lunar month Vaisakha Masam during the bright fortnight (Vaisakha Sukla Dasami) in the lunar year Sri Vilambinaama Samvatsara in the current Kaliyuga. The marriage is said to have been performed in the night. The divine event is said to have been held at a place called Narayanapuram (presently known as Narayanavanam) about 33km from Tirupathi on the way to Chennai near Puttur.

After the marriage, Lord Srinivasa and Goddess Padmavathi could not go to Tirumala immediately according to the tradition that, new couple should not climb a hill for a period of six months soon after the marriage. They instead stayed near
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Agasthya Aashram for a period of six months as per the advice of Sage Agasthya. The place where Lord Srinivaasa stayed along with his consort Goddess Padmavathi is now known as Srinivaasa Mangapuram which is about 15 km from Tirupathi. There is a temple of Lord Venkateswara at this place and the idol of the Lord here is a replica of the one at Tirumala. Here the Lord is called Kalyaana Venkateswara Swamy. There is a general saying that Marriages are made in Heaven. When such is the case, place where the Divine marriage of the Supreme Lord Srinivaasa took place should be a Superior Heaven. In memory of the divine marriage Aakasa Raja constructed at Narayanavanam two separate temples in same complex for Goddess Padmavathi and Lord Srinivasa and installed their idols. To evidence the marriage of Padmavathi Devi, grinding stone said to have been used at the time of marriage is still present in front of Padmavathi Temple. Lord Srinivasa called here also as Kalyaana Venkateswara Swamy gives darshan in the attire of a bride groom. This is the only place where Goddess Padmavathi Devi has a temple exclusively. If any one has not yet visited this place; please do visit this sacred place during your next visit to Tirumala-Tirupathi.

To commemorate the sacred event of Sri Padmavathi Srinivaasa Kalyaanam, a three day festival is held every year at Tirumala under the auspices of TTD coinciding with Vaisakha Sukla Dasami during April/May months. In fact, Tirumala temple conducts Kalyaanotsavam of the Ever Green Lord Sri (Srinivaasa) Venkateswara and His consorts Sri Devi - Bhoo Devi on a daily basis except on specified days. Nowadays we also observe TTD conducting Sri Vaari Kalyaanotsavam outside Tirumala temple at specified places and even abroad.
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One will not miss this sacred event of Sri Padmavathi Srinivaasa Kalyaanam in Hindu calendar if its magnitude is made known. On this auspicious occasion it will be highly meritorious if one performs/sponsors or participates in Kalyaanotsavam of Lord Srinivaasa (Venkateswara) and also read/listen to the episode of Srinivaasa Kalyaanam from Venkataachala Mahaatmya. It is said that where Venkatesa Mahaatmya is read/heard, there; one will have good longevity; good health; good prosperity and eventually that will lead to salvation. Kalyaanam means auspicious. When it is the Kalyaana of the Supreme Lord, the auspiciousness will be in abundance and it will be for the universal welfare and well being of the humanity.

Kalyaanaadbhuthagaatraaya Kaamithaarthapradaayiney SreemadhVenkatanaathaaya Srinivaasaaya They Namaha Above sloka stands as a testimony to the benevolence of Lord Srinivaasa (Venkateswara) who is an epitome of auspiciousness (Kalyaana); the one who bestows wealth and fulfills all the desires of his devotees who sings his glory. Sri Krushnaarpanamasthu bhargavasarma Related posts you may like to read from the below given links

Sri Venkatesha Sthothram (Brahmanda Purana) Tirumala Sreevaari Brahmotsavam (Concept-Glory-SignificanceMerits) Chilikuru Balaji - The VISA God
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