Tirupati ˈtɪrʊpɒtɪ is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to the renowned Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, a major Hindu pilgrimage site, as well as other historic temples. The temple is one of the eight Svayam Vyakta Kshetras self-manifested temples dedicated to the deity Vishnu. Tirupati is situated 150 km from Chennai, 250 km from Bangalore, and 416 km from Vijayawada.
Tirupati is the second largest city in the Rayalaseema region, after Kurnool. According to the 2011 census of India, Tirupati had a population of 287,035, making it the ninth most populous city in Andhra Pradesh, while the larger urban agglomeration had a population of 459,985, ranking it the seventh largest in the state. The city functions as a municipal corporation and serves as the headquarters for the Tirupati district, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, Tirupati Urban, Tirupati Rural mandals, the Tirupati revenue division, the Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited APSPDCL, and the Tirupati Urban Development Authority TUDA.
In 2012–2013, Tirupati was recognized by India's Ministry of Tourism as the Best Heritage City. Additionally, it was selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed under the Smart Cities Mission, a Government of India initiative aimed at urban development and modernization.
Etymology
In Dravidian, Tiru means sacred or Honourable and Pati, a Dravidian word meaning residence. The prefix Tiru Thiru is a widely recognised Tamil word and is used in many South Indian place names. Tirupati Tirumala is referred to as Pushpa-mandapa in Acharya-Hrdayam 13th century.
History
Puranas
According to Varaha Purana, during Treta Yuga, Rama resided here with Sita and Lakshmana on his return from Lankapuri.
As per the Purana, a loan of one crore and 11.4 million gold coins was sought by Balaji from Kubera for his marriage with Padmavathi. To pay back the loan, devotees from all over India visit the temple and donate money.
Ancient history
Tirupati was developed by Pallava Kings from 6th century onwards. The city became a great Vaishnava centre during the time of Ramanujacharya in 11th century, from where Srivaishnavism spread to other parts of Andhra Desa. Srikurmam Temple in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh bears the inscription, Tirupati Srivaishnavula Raksha. Tirupati survived the Muslim invasions by accepting to pay Jizya to the Muslims. During the early 1300s Muslim invasion of South India, the idol of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping.
The temple town for most of the medieval era was part of Vijayanagara Empire until the 17th century and its rulers contributed considerable resources and wealth, notable among whom are Krishna Deva Raya and Achyuta Deva Raya, Sadasiva Raya and Tirumala Deva Raya.
The city has many historical temples including the Venkateswara Temple which bears 1,150 inscriptions in the Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages. Out of 1150 inscriptions 236 belong to Pallava, Chola and Pandya dynasties, 169 belonged to Saluva dynasty, 251 belonged to Achyuta Deva Raya period, 130 belonged to Sadasiva Raya period and another 135 originated in Aravidu dynasty. These mostly specify the contributions of the Pallava Kingdom around the ninth century CE, Chola Kingdom around the tenth century CE and the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century CE. In the 15th century, Tallapaka Annamacharya sung many songs in praise of the holy town in Telugu. He termed it as divine, including the rocks, streams, trees, animals, and adds that it is heaven on earth. One example of such a song is
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