The Tirumala Vengamamba Bhojanalaya Painting is beautifully done with bright fluorescent colors, creating a 3D look that won’t tire your eyes even after prolonged viewing.
Do you know what Tirumala Vengamamba Bhojanalaya Painting represents?
There are 5 holy places in the Seshachalam forests, and this painting is famous for those 5 holy places. Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swami Vaari Temple, Ahobilam Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Mahanandi Sri Mahanandiswara Swamy Temple, Tripurantakeswara Temple and Srisailam Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple.
There are 5 holy places in the forests of Seshachalam, and Tirumala Vengamamba Bhojanalaya Painting is famous for these 5 holy places.
- Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swami Vaari Temple
- Ahobilam Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple
- Mahanandi Sri Mahanandiswara Swamy Temple
- Tripurantakeswara Temple
- Srisailam Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple
Yogis in meditation saw it as Anant Sesha with an open hood at one end and the stretched body twisted to the tail. The one present under the hood is Venkatachalam, which is Tirupati, at the end of the tail is Srisailam. This is how the yogis saw it in meditation. Likewise, Annamacharya glorified him as “padivela seshula padagala mayamu“.
These are the 5 holy places represented in the painting. Next time you go to Vengamamba Bhojanalaya, try to spend some time having a look at this amazing 3D painting, which even makes the painter happy because he had to put in a lot of effort to paint it.
History of 3 temples:
About Lakshmi Narasimha swamy is Ahobilam:
Ahobilam is the second holy place in the painting shown with an image of Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy. Of the 108 Divya Desams, there are only 2 in Andhra Pradesh. One is Tirumala and the other is Ahobilam. Even today there is the pillar from where Lord Narasimha emerged to kill Hiranyakashipu. There is a pond where the Lord washed his hands after killing Hiranyakashipu. The water looks different. It appears red when you see it normally, but it appears normal when you pick it up and when you drop it, it appears red. It seems somewhat unusual.
There are 6 Narasimhas on the hill 3 Narasimhas at the bottom of the hill, making a total of 9 popularly known as Nava Narasimhas. Those with Nava Graha doshas would get rid of them by visiting Nava Narasimhas, each Narashima takes one dosha each. There is also a school at the top of the hill where Prahlad studied.
Mahanandi Sri Mahanandiswara Swamy Temple:
The second image in the painting looks like a cow standing on a Shiva lingam. This is Mahanandi in the Kurnool district near Nandyal. It is an amazing place where Nandeeswara did penance for Lord Shiva.
Purana says that in the past, a cow used to come and pour her milk into an anthill, in which Lord Shiva was present. The cowboy saw this and wants to know who is stealing milk from the cow daily. Just like in the story of Venkateswara Mahatyam, one day he decided to find out. As the cow was emptying her milk into the anthill, the cowherd boy got angry and tried to hit her with a stick. Unable to tolerate the pain, instead of moving forward, the cow pressed down on the Shiva Lingam with her foot. However, the Lord accepted it with love.
Even today, traces of cows are found on Shiva Lingam in Mahanandi. The reason is because of this story. Just as a mother overflows with love when her child kicks her, the Lord has accepted the footprint of the cow for her devotion even though it is an animal.
Another Mahanandi specialty is their pushkarini which you won’t find anywhere. The water in it seems crystal clear. When you drop a coin into it, you will be able to clearly see the coin from the top surface, even though it is about 6 feet deep.
After many years of research, it has been discovered that pushkarini water originates from below Shiva’s lingam, where three water sources rise and enter Pushkarini through a Gomukh (cow’s face shape). From there, the water flows and serves thousands of hectares for cultivation. Inside the temple, there is a sculpture on the ceiling which is carved to give a 3D effect. There are also Nava (9) Nandis there.
Tripurantakeswara Temple:
The one before Srisailam where Lord Shiva is depicted in a seated position on a small hillock, is Tripurantakam in Prakasam district, near Vinukonda.
The story of Tripurasura is when Kumara Swamy killed Tarakasura, his three sons, known as Tripurasuras, worshiped Brahma and got 3 flying saucers with which they started destroying the world. These saucers are invincible. The only way to destroy these flying saucers is to align them on a single axis for a while. Lord Shiva shot them down with a single arrow without violating the conditions like an unusual arrow, unusual chariot, etc. After destroying Tripurasuras, Lord Shiva manifested here. That is why it is called Tripurantakeshwarudu, and the place became famous as Tripurantakam.
Unlike the usual Shiva Lingams which look flat, Tripurantakam’s Shiva Lingam looks great with 5 faces and Ganga oozing from the top continuously. There is a small depression at the top of the Lingam from which the Ganges water flows continuously. He looks really amazing. The temple is also built on a Sri Chakram-like shape. One could observe it from behind the temple in its outer premises.
Ammavaru Temple in Tripura Sundari form is located downhill. Ammavaru resides in a lake-like structure. For this reason, the deity and temple of Ammavaru are submerged during rains. Adi Shankaracharya inscribed a Sri Chakram at the top of the temple which is worshipped when the deity of Ammavaru is submerged in water.
Around the temple, there are many Kadamba trees which are the favorites of Ammavaru (Kadamba vana vasineem). There is a cave next to the temple which supposedly takes you to Srisailam. Srisailam has many entrances and Tripurantakam is one of them. You could reach Srisailam if you start from this cave.
