9. Sri Venkateswara Swamy Vaari Temple , Tirupathi

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                        Venkateswara Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu, who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from trials and troubles of Kali Yuga. Hence the place has also got the name Kaliyuga Vaikuntha and the Lord here is referred to as Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam. The temple is also known by other names including Tirumala Temple, Tirupati Temple, Tirupati Balaji Temple. Venkateswara is known by many other names: Balaji, Govinda, and Srinivasa. The temple is run by the body Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) which is under direct control of the Andhra Pradesh Government, which also appoints the head of TTD and uses the revenue from the shrine.


Tirumala Hills are part of the Seshachalam Hills range. The hills are 853 metres (2,799 ft) above sea level. The Hills comprise seven peaks, representing the seven heads of Adisesha. The temple lies on the seventh peak, Venkatadri, on the southern banks of Sri Swami Pushkarini, a holy water tank. Hence the temple is also referred to as the "Temple of Seven Hills". Tirumala town covers about 10.33 sq mi (26.75 km2) in area.


The temple is constructed in Dravidian architecture and is believed to be constructed over a period of time starting from 300 AD. The Garbagruha (Sanctum Sanctorum) is called AnandaNilayam. The presiding deity, Venkateswara, is in standing posture and faces east in Garbha gruha. The temple follows Vaikhanasa Agama tradition of worship. The temple is one of the eight Vishnu Swayambhu Kshetras and is listed as 106th and the last earthly Divya Desam. The Temple premises had two modern Queue complex buildings to
organise the pilgrim rush, Tarigonda Vengamamba Annaprasadam complex for free meals to Pilgrims, hair tonsure buildings and a number of pilgrim lodging sites.


                                                                                                                                                                                         It is the richest temple in the world in terms of donations received and wealth. The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), while on special occasions and festivals, like the annual Brahmotsavam, the number of pilgrims shoots up to 500,000, making it the most-visited holy place in the world. In 2016, it was reported that 27.3 million pilgrims visited the temple.


It is around 435 km (270.3 mi) from Vijayawada, 571.9 km (355.4 mi) from Hyderabad, 138 km (85.7 mi) from Chennai, 291 km (180.8 mi) from Bangalore, and 781.2 km (485.4 mi) from Visakhapatnam.

There are several legends associated with the manifestation of the Lord in Tirumala. According to one legend, the temple has a murti (deity) of Venkateswara, which it is believed shall remain here for the entire duration of the present Kali Yuga.
During Dvapara Yuga, Adisesha resided on earth as Seshachalam Hills after losing a contest with Vayu. According to Puranas, Tirumala is regarded as Adivaraha Kshetra. After killing Hiranyaksha, Adivaraha resided on this hill. Sri Venkatachala Mahatyam is the widely accepted legend over Tirumala Temple.

During Kali Yuga, Narada advised Rishis who were performing Yajna to decide who could be given the fruits of yagna among Trimurtis. Bhrigu was sent to test Trimurtis. The sage who had an extra eye in the sole of his foot visited Brahma and Shiva and went unnoticed in both these locations. At last he visited Vishnu and the lord acts as if he had not noticed Bhrigu. Getting angered by this act, sage Bhrigu kicked Vishnu in the chest, to which Vishnu did not react and instead apologised to the Sage by massaging his feet. During this act, he squashed the extra eye that was present in the sole of Bhrigu's foot. However Lakshmi finds it as an insult and had left Vaikuntam onto Earth to Kolhapur and started meditating.
Vishnu bore human form as Srinivasa, left Vaikuntam, in search of Lakshmi, reached Tirumala Hills and started meditating. Lakshmi came to know about the condition of Srinivasa and prayed to Shiva and Brahma. Shiva and Brahma then converted themselves into Cow and Calf and Goddess Lakshmi had handed over the cow and calf to Chola king ruling over Tirumala Hills at that time. The Cow would provide milk to Srinivasa daily while it was taken for grazing. One day Cowherd saw this and tried to beat the Cow with staff but Srinivasa had borne the injury. Getting angered by this Srinivasa had cursed the Chola king to become a Demon as dharma says Servants sin should be borne by Kings. The king prayed for mercy after which Srinivasa said to him, that the King should take next birth as Akasaraja and should perform marriage of his daughter Padmavati with Srinivasa.

                                                  

      Tirupati Laddu or SriVari Laddu is the laddu sweet offered as Naivedhyam to Venkateswara at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, India. The laddu is given as prasadam to devotees after having the darshan in the temple. The laddu prasadam is prepared within the temple kitchen known as 'Potu' by the temple board Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. Tirupati Laddu received Geographical indication tag which entitles that only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams can make and sell it.
Laddu Potu is the kitchen where Tirupati Laddus are prepared. It lies inside the Sampangi pradakshinam of the temple. The Potu is equipped with three conveyor belts used for carrying ingredients into the potu and finished Laddus to the selling counters from Potu. Out of three conveyor belts the first one installed during 2007 can transfer only laddus and the second installed in the year 2010 can transfer both laddus and boondi. The third conveyor belt was installed in 2014 as a backup for the two conveyor belts should they malfunction. In olden days only fire wood was used to cook laddus, which was replaced by LPG in the year 1984.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams prepare an average of 2.8 lakh laddus a day in Laddu potu. At present, the potu is equipped has a capacity to make 800,000 a day.

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