Tirupathi Balaji And Srikalahasti

Tirupathi Balaji And Srikalahasti - 24th & 25th November 2023

Day 1: Travel from Bangalore to Tirupathi (247 Kms -5Hrs):  Travelled by Car on 24-Nov-2023,Friday from Bangalore at 5:30AM and reached Tirupathi by 10:30AM. Since did not have planned visit tickets books got into SSD Ticket Center at Srinivasam Complex near to Tirupathi Bus Stand, since any available tickets are prvoided at this center till stocks empty. We got the tickets within 2 mins as there was no queues there, tickets were for next day 25-Nov-2023, Saturday 5 AM Darshan.

Typically there are suppose 5 centers where the SSD Tickets are provided in Tirupathi. 

Tirupati SSD - SarvaDarshanTokens- Aadhaar Tokens(DDT-Dharma Darshan Tokens)

1. Alipiri -3AM- BhuDeviComplex- Aadhaar based token. 

 2. Srivari Mettalu -6AM- 240th Step - Aadhaar based Divya Darshan Token. 

From Morning 5Am. 

3. Govindaraja Swami Chatram -Backside Railway Station 

4. Visnu Nivasam- near railway station 

5. Srinivasam Complex- Busstand

Youtube post was useful to know this - https://youtu.be/QBxu3oC-KXQ?si=eWCg_EePG4AGdG7H

 Booked a place to stay near to Vishnu Nivasam, as TTD Accomodation were already filled by online bookings done by devotees. Stayed at Damodar Residency near to Govidaraja Swami Temple.

Finished the Lunch opposite to hotel at the SriVijayaVenkateshwara Bhavan, nice south indian meal served on plantain leaf and later had a nap for upto 3PM.

Places around the Sri Govinda Raja Swamy Vari Temple- 3:30 PM

Mobile phones are not allowed in the temple but there is a counter to keep them & collect back when going out, not much rush was there in the temple as visited around 3:30 -4 PM. Some nomincal Rs.20 Sheegra Dasrshan Tickets were taken but that also was not required as people here move quite fast. This template exactly resembles the Tirupathi temple on the mountain, so if somebody could not visit on hilltop can finish darshans here shortly.

1. Sri Govinda Raja Swamy Vari Temple

2. Sri Kalyana Venkateshwara Swamy Temple

3. Sri Aandal Amma Vari Temple

4. Sri Partha Sarathy Swamy Vari Temple

Tirchanur Padmavathi Temple - 5PM

Next we visited the Tirchanur Padmavathi Temple, where we had booked the Online tickets for Rs.200 Darshan as it was a Friday and evening 5 PM had planned in advance and it was planned for Gate 3 Visit, but the parking was pathetic around here nobody to guide and crowded street found a place to park and visited the temple. 

Being Uthanna Dwadashi, Tulsi habba and also Padmavathi Brahmostavams were ongoing, there was a beautiful Unjal Seva happening for Padmavathi Ammavaru at the temple with nice Annamaya Keetana offered to devi.

Day 2: Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam - 4 AM - 7:30 AM (Morning Darshnam through SSD)

ATGH - Alwar Tank Guest House

Next day morning woke up at 2AM got bathed checked out from the Room below hill at Tirupathi started towards the hill by around 3AM. Was a nice chill morning with pleasant weather in the morning, we had to wait for the gates to open to start climbing the hill in our car, it got opened in 15mins aorund 3:15 Am they aloowed us the condition is min,.45 mins to be taken to climb the hills one should not drive fast here. 

Our Sarvadarshana counter on the hill was at the ATGH, we parked the car outside the counter and started moving towards counter by around 4 AM. After a nice breif walks for say around a hour, there are counters with water & toilets for devotees to wait in queues we waited there until 7AM. Within the next 15mins our Darshnam happended with Sri Tirumala Venkateshwara fillin our eyes with the 2 second span we get in front of the lord. After this we visited the Varaha Swamy Temple near to the SrivariPushkarini Tank.
1.Sri Venkateswara Swamy Vaari Temple
2. TTD Laddu Counters
3. Shri Varaha Swamy Temple (near SrivariPushkarini Tank.)

Started from Tirupathi after having breakfast at Royal Sarangee Family Resturant at 9AM, took a cab to go to ATGH complex where we had parked our car. We started alighting down the hill around 9:15AM and came down to Alipiri by around 10AM. Had some snaps around the Garuda Deva the Alipiri Circle.

 Srikalahasthi (SKH) - 41 Kms from Tirupathi 1Hr 15Mins

Travelled from Alipiri Circle towards Srikalahasti for the Rahu Kalam Pooja though we were aware we could not reach by Rahukalam, we reached the temple by around 11:30AM, also here the parking places were not available though there were earmarked spaces, had to wait and get in.

Planned for the Rahu-Ketu pooja the kshetram starte by aorund 12PM noon and went on with pooja until around 3PM when we came out of the Temple complex.

Sanctum temples for the following dieties visited, very huge temple for shiva was reminded of the Nanjangudu Temple of Karnataka.

1.  Sri Kalahasteeswara means Shiva

2. Goddess Gnana Prasunambika Devi means Parvati 

3. Sri DakshnaMoorthy

* other gods Sadh Ganpathi, Annapurna, Subramanya, Suryanarayan, Kasi Viswanatha, etc.

Kalahastiswara and Gyanaprasunambika- The inner temple was built in the 5th century by the Rajendra Chola I and later by the the Vijayanagara kings in the 11th century .

According to legend Srikalahasti is named after Sri (spider), Kala (snake) and Hasti (elephant) as legend has it that that the 3 of them once worshiped the Shiva lingam here and attained Moksham or Salvation. Srikalahasti is also known as a Rahu-Ketu ( The 2 shadowy planet North node and South node) kshetra and also called Dakshina Kailasam.

Sree Dakshinamoorthy (Guru Graha Sambandham)

Sri- Spider

Kala - Sarpa

Hasti - Elephant

More details nicely written at ; https://www.aanmeegam.in/en/srikalahasti-temple-history-timings-festival-address/

Jaya Shri Krishna, Sarvam Krishnarpana Masthu.