” TIRUMALA is most holy shrine and Lord Vaikuntanathan out of abundant mercy has appeared as Lord Venkateshwara in this yuga for our upliftment .
The sacred TIRUMALA Hills consists of seven peaks considered to be seven-hooded Adhisesha
. Before seeking to have darsanam of LORD , the devotees are supposed to shed the inherent tamasic qualities and approach with sattva gunam for HIS darshanam .
Elders advise us to reach the foot of the Tirumala Hills and have a holy dip at Azhwar Theertham presently called as Kapila Theertham before ascending the Hills.
This divine place is located enroute to Tirumala . Out of the 1008 theerthams located in and around TIRUMALA HILLS , Azhwar Theertham ( Kapila Theertham) is the only natural spring located at the foot of the Hills.
On the shores of Alwar theertham is enshrined Sri Lakshmi Narayana Perumal gracing the devotees . Lord is gracing with goddess Sri maha Lakshmi . On the other side we can have darshan of Lord Venugopala Swamy..
It is believed that this holy water springs source is from Lord’s lotus feet and hence is considered to be very sacred.
Near the water falls of Azhwar Theertham there is a small temple of Swamy Nammazhwar .
Further ahead we see a small cave. Many years back, this region was ruled by Emperor Thondaiman, who used to visit Tirumala daily.
Since it was difficult to cross all the Seven hills in the normal way, it is believed that the Lord had shown him a shorter route to reach him via this cave!
It is said that there was a temple for Lord Sri Narasimha inside the cave .
Presently , the Azhwar Theertham is known as Kapila Theertham .This place is glorified for the Paramasiva temple installed by Kapila Rishi and hence the name Kapileswara.
This wonderful temple is one and half miles from Tirupati.
It is also said ,during the ‘Kartika’ month on the ‘Purnima’ (full moon) day, many locals assemble to have darshan of Azhwars and Paramasivan
In the Tamil DivyaPrabhandam sree sookthee Azhwars have sung around 202 divine pasurams on LORDSHIPS .
By having a holy dip in Azhwar Theertham, the devotee gets purified physically
This is similar to our journey to Sri Vaikuntam. It is explained in detail about the journey in the Archaradhi gadhi, that enroute the jiva atma has a purificatory dip in Viraja Nadhi .
As Tirumala is Bhooloka Vaikuntam, Alwar Theertham is like Viraja river and so it would be appropriate to take a holy dip here before we have darshan of LORD up hills!
By doing so, the soul sheds the Tamo and Rajo gunam and proceeds to Alipiri, the foot of the Hills.
Trekking up the holy hills is considered to be very sacred.
Recalling the inner meanings of the Azhwars divya prabhandam and Acharyars who have glorified the Holy Hills in their outpourings one treks with reverence to have LORD’s darshan ..
All animate and inanimate beings on the Hills are worship able on this sacred Hills .
A view of the sacred hill from the footpath at Alipiri is seen to be believed.
As the summit opens into a spacious, charming valley, the range of the splendour breaks through several outlets like fantastically shaped rocks in the form of serpentine roads.
The flora and fauna on the Holy Hills provide an example of a perfect ecological balance by nature.
The imposing chain of seven hills extending in curves with its intermediate ranges and ridges resembles the divine serpent, Adisesha.
It is mentioned in Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatam, the range of 7 hills are celebrated as Seshalam, Garudachalam, Venkatadri, Narayanadri, Vrishabhadri, Anjanadri, Neeladri and represents the great serpent bed
As per Upanishads , in brief the Jeevatma passes through five stages in its spiritual evolution , namely, Annamayya kosa , Pranamaya kosa , Manomaya kosa Vignanamaya and Anandamaya kosams.
The devotee sheds Annamaya kosa at this holy place Azhwar Theetham .
After a holy dip and blessings of Swamy Nammazhwar he ascends the holy hills in the Pranamaya stage on to the Hills.
Once he reaches the Mokaala Parvatham (the knee breaking ascent ) with abundant mercy he moves into Manaomaya kosam and with serious quest to seek LORD from heart and the mind he approaches JagathAcharyar Swamy Ramanujar shrine . ( The appended post describes about this ancient temple )
The darshan enlightens him with knowledge of the real relationship between prakruti, jeevatma and Paramatma .
With the blessings of Swamy Ramanuja he reaches the sacred hills .
He is advised to take a dip in Swami Pushkarini near the temple. From here he gets inspiration and seeks the lotus feet of Lord Varaha ( Gnana Piran) (Sri Bhoovaraha Swami ) and gets further enlightened thus the the Vignanamaya kosa is activated .
The final stage is reached when he seeks union with the supreme Lord our Lord Venkateshwara in the Aananda nilaya vimanam.
When Anandam( bliss ) takes possession of the soul, there is no further need for any desire other than reaching his lotus feet permanently ……
The great devotee Annamaya submits to the LORD in this appended kirtana a jivas struggle to reach HIS lotus feet … Check the meanings too in this clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7beQYyXk4M
Adiyen Ramanuja dasan
Pics : Google images
Videos credits : Ramyagiri
