The Lord reveals Himself – Story
The great Ramanuja who gave the conch chakra as a symbol to the Lord balaji of the seven hills of Tirupati.
Let us read that incident here:
Ramanuja, the most important of the Sri Vaishnava Acharyas, has made various renovations in Tirupati.
In particular, it was Ramanuja who established Tirupati as a Vaishnava shrine.
During his lifetime, there was a controversy as to whether the one on Tirumala was a Saiva temple or a Vaishnava temple!
Is the idol of Shiva or Vishnu in the sanctum sanctorum?
Both the Sects claimed the right.
At that time, Ramanuja established that the Lord of Seven hills Tirumala is Vishnu / Narayana only.
How?
The mythological information behind this:
When a controversy arose as to whether the idol sitting in the sanctum sanctorum of Tirumala temple was an aspect of Narayana or an aspect of Shiva, the king left the responsibility of deciding the matter to Sri Ramanuja.
Following this, Ramanuja placed the sacred ashes, which is a offering of the devotees of Lord Shiva, in front of the idol in the temple.
He also placed the conch shell, which is the Narayana aspect.
Then, standing in front of the idol, he said, “O Lord, if you are the Narayana aspect, wear the conch shell on your head, and if you are the Shiva aspect, apply the Sacred ashes,” and closed the door of the shrine.
Everyone waits all night.
The next morning, the door of the shrine is opened with the singing of kirtans and the chanting of the mantra.
The idol of Lord stands with the conch shell and the Chakra on the shoulders of his idol body.
The devotees were mesmerized and agreed that the idol is the aspect of Narayana.
Thus confirming that Tirupati is a Vaishnava temple, Ramanuja makes various renovations in the temple.
He also brings the practices of the Srirangam temple here too. He cleared the forest, built a road, arranged for the Lord to come and conduct festivals.
From there, the city of Tirumala emerged. Even today, there is ‘Ramanuja Street’ there.
He built and beautified the temple Garden. It is still there today under the name ‘Ramanuja Nandavanam (Garden)’.
There is a separate shrine for Ramanuja in the temple, which added speciality to the Tirumala Balaji temple. Festivals are celebrated in Tirupati every month on the Ardra star, the day of Ramanuja’s birth.
(Be Grateful to God – Story! READ HERE!)