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Tirupati door, game of dice -> facts

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Pradeep Janakiraman • September 24, 2002 


I was able to find out some references from the web relating to 
Hathiram Baba and temple's maintenance.

A DAY IN THE DEITY'S LIFE:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
His day begins with the Melu Kolupu Paata (awakening song) sung by 
the descendants of Annamacharya, followed by Sri Venkateswara 
Suprabhatam.

A traditional cowherd or Yadava is given the first darsan or holy 
sight of the idol, of the day. The recitation of the deity's 1,008 
names is begun in the name of Hathiram Babaji, a 15th century seeker 
from North India. 

Administration of temple:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The Pallavas of Kanchipuram (9th century AD) ,Cholas of Tanjore (10 
century) , Pandyas of mathura and Vijayanagara pradhans (14th & 15th 
centuries) were committed devotees of Lord Venkateswara. The statues 
of Sri Krishna Devaraya and his spouse stand in the premises of the 
temple. After the decline of Vijayanagara Empire, kings from various 
states like the king of Mysore and Gadwal, worshiped the lord as 
pilgrims and gifted various ornaments and valuables to the temple. 
Raghoji Bhonsle, the Maharastrian commander visited the temple and 
made a permanent arrangement regarding the regular pujas to be done 
to the Lord. 

Later the administrative authority of Venkateswara Temple along with 
the temples in the village lied with the head of Hathiram Ji mutt in 
Tirumala. Till 1933 the administration of the temple had been wielded 
by the head of that monastery, Hathiram Mahantha.

In 1933 the Madras government appointed a Commission to Tirumala 
Tirupati Devasthanam through a special statutory authority to run the 
administration of the temple. 

Hathiram Baba's brief story:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Haathiram was North-Indian by birth. He came down to south. In 
tirupati, he constructed a small mutt and settled. Every day he used 
to worship the Lord of the Seven Hills.   
 
Sri Venkateswara was pleased with his devotion and used to come and 
play dice with him. One such day he forgot his necklace there and 
returned to his Sanctum Sanctorum. Babaji noticed it after Swami left 
his place. He wanted to hand it over to the Lord. He started to the 
temple. In the meanwhile priests of the temple observed that the 
necklace was missing. They complained to the authorities.   
 
In the meanwhile Bavaji arrived and handed over the necklace to them. 
When questioned he answered with all innocence that the Lord had 
forgotten it in his mutt.

They did not believe him, and wanted to embarass him. So they locked 
him up in a room with ten kilos of cooked rice and ten bundles of 
sugarcane and challenged him, "If you really are like an elephant you 
must eat every bit of this food by daybreak". Within five minutes of 
being locked up Hathiram Baba, having consumed the ten kilos of rice 
and the ten bundles of sugarcane, kicked the locked doors to pieces 
and stepped out trumpeting like an elephant. 

Hathiram baba's mutt exists even today opposite the temple and its a 
jiva-samadhi. The scenes of Hathiram's game with the lord is depicted 
on the doors to entrance of the temple. 

-- pradeep 

(I can provide any references to the web-sites from which I 
abstracted this, upon request)



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