Reference Eenadu Telugu Daily dated 18.10.15 Sunday, page 11, top middle three columns. Heading: SrivAriki kESAlu vunDavu. संदर्भ -ईनाडु दैनिक १८.१०.२०१५, पृष्ठ ११, शिर शीर्षिका- श्रीवारिकि (श्री बालाजी भगवान को) केश नहीं रहते। ఈనాడు 18.10.15 , 11 పేజీ, పైన, మధ్య మూడు కాలాల వార్తను చూడండి: హెడింగ్_ శ్రీ వారికి కేశాలు ఉండవు.
This is an important information. यह एक मुख्य समाचार है। ఇది ఒక ముఖ్యమైన సమాచారం. The Chief Priest of the Tirumala Tirpati Devasthanam Shri Venkateswara (Balaji) Temple, Shri RamaNa Dikshitulu answered some questions, to clarify on some items in circulation about Lord Venkateswara, among netizens. The idea seems to be to dispel misconceptions. Welcome.
Chief Priest revealed one important information प्रधान अर्चक ने महाशय एक मुख्य विषय बहिर्गत किया। ప్రధాన అర్చకులు శ్రీ రమణ దీక్షితుల వారు ఒక ముఖ్య విషయాన్నే బహిర్గత పర్చారు.
श्री तिरुमल तिरुपति देवस्थान के प्रधान अर्चक श्री रमण दीक्षितुलु ईनाडु दैनिक अखबार से, श्री वेंकटेश्वर भगवान् (श्रीनिवासा या बालाजी) के विषय में, इंंटर नॆट् में चलन में रहने वाले कुछ वार्ता सूचनाओं और विश्वासों पर अपने स्पष्टीकरम देने के लिये प्रश्नोत्तर भाषण दिये। स्वागत।
శ్రీ తిరుమల తిరుపతి శ్రీ వేంకటేశ్వర దేవాలయ ప్రధాన అర్చకులు శ్రీ రమణ దీక్షితుల వారు, ఇంటర్ నెట్ లో కొందరి మధ్య తిరుగుతున్న విషయాంశాలపై స్పష్టీకరణ ఇవ్వటానికై ఈనాడు దినపత్రిక వారికి కొన్ని ప్రశ్నోత్తరాలు ఇచ్చారు.
Among these, the most important clarification relates to the absence of hair on the head of Lord Srinivasa. First we shall reproduce the question and answer of Shri RamaNa Dikshitulu for clarity.
ప్రశ్న _ శ్రీవారి శిరస్సుకు కేశాలున్నాయా? కేశాలుంటే చిక్కు పడవని అంటారు , నిజమేనా ?
శ్రీ వారికి శిరస్సు వెనుక భాగంలో కేశాలు లేవు. ఆయన శిలామూర్తిగా శాశ్వతుడు. స్వామివారికి కేశాలనేవి రావు.
Approximate English: Question-- Is there hair to the head of Lord? People say that if there are hair, they will not entangled, is it true?
Ans: There are (is) no hair on the hind side of the head of the Lord. As a form of stone, he is eternal. Lord will not get hair.
समीप हिंदी-प्रश्न- भगवान के शिर पर शिरोज है क्या ? लोग कहते हैं कि, अगर शिरोज रहे तो, वे उलझते (फसते, अटकते), क्या यह सत्य है ?
भगवान के शिर के पृष्ठ भाग में शिरोज नहीं हैं। भगवान के शिला स्वरूप शाश्वत है। प्रभू को शिरोज नहीं आयेगा।
We shall, now, refer to our previous posts, on the possible origin of Lord Shri Venkateswara's idol /temple at Tirumala.
1) Post No. 508 Was Tirumala Venkateswara, originally VIrabhadra? क्या तिरुमल वॆंकटेश्वरा, असल में वीरभद्र महादेव था ? తిరుమల శ్రీ వేంకటేశ్వరుడు, అసలుకి వీరభద్రుడా ? -- Click to go to http://problemsoftelugus.blogspot.com/search/label/508'.
2) Post No. 511 Part 2 of Tirumala Venkateswara, Veerabhadra, Neminatha भाग २ तिरुमल वेंकटेश्वर, वीरभद्र, नेमीनाथ, భాగం 2 తిరుమల శ్రీవేంకటేశ్వర, వీరభద్ర, నేమీనాథ. Click to go to http://problemsoftelugus.blogspot.com/search/label/511'.
3) Post No. 512 Part 3 of Tirumala Venkateswara, Veerabhadra, Neminatha भाग ३ तिरुमल वॆंकटेश्वर, वीरभद्र, नेमीनाथ భాగం ౩ తిరుమల వెంకటేశ్వర, వీరభద్ర, నేమీనాథ. Click to go to http://problemsoftelugus.blogspot.com/search/label/512'.
4) Post No. 513 Part 4 (Final) of Tirumala Venkateswara, Vitthala , Vireswara भाग ४ तिरुमल श्री वेंकटेश्वर, विठ्ठल (पंधरपूर) और वीरेश्वर భాగం ౪ (ఆఖరు) శ్రీ వేంకటేశ్వర, విఠ్ఠల, వీరేశ్వర, భక్తవత్సల. Click to go to http://problemsoftelugus.blogspot.com/search/label/513'.
ybrao-a-donkey's humble views. You need not agree with me. You have every right to express your views and criticise me. Welcome. वैबीराव गधे के विनम्र राय। आप मुझ से सहमत होने के निर्बंध नहीं है। आप को अपने अभिप्रायों को व्यक्त करने के और मुझे खुरदा पकडने के सभी हक हैं। स्वागत. వైబీరావు గాడిద వినమ్ర వ్యాఖ్య. మీరు నాతో ఏకీభవించవలసిన నిర్బంధం లేదు. మీ అభిప్రాయాలను వ్యక్తం చేసే స్వేఛ్ఛ, నన్ను విమర్శించే అన్ని హక్కులు మీకున్నాయి. స్వాగతం.
This is only a temporary analysis. Not something final. Further discussions have to take place among historians, scholars and other knowledgeable persons. Hence, I request readers to be patient and tolerant, and invite them to participate freely with their comments and views.
यह एक तात्कालिक परिशीलन है। फैनल राय नहीं है। इतिहास लेखक, पंडित, और विझ जन, इन विषयांशों पर गहरा चिंतन और चर्चा करना, और अपने अपने रायों को विस्तृत चर्चा करने का है। मैं पाठक मित्रों को यह प्रार्धना कर रहा हूँ कि, वे अपने रायों के स्वेछ्छा रूप में निचे कामॆंट्स विडो में अपने रायों को लिख दीजिये।
ybrao-a-donkey's personal view point: Most Gods of both Shaiva and VaishNava cultures usually have hair. Even idols of Lord wear big crowns, at least a few strains of hair will be visible near ears, or on the backside of neck (mares). Shiva and Brahma idols are very few. Most idols which have a head resembling a human head belong to LOrd Vishnu, and his 10++ incarnations. They all have at least a few strands of hair. Whether crowns are sculptured on the stone as a part of the idol i.e. as semi-convex forms (this is common), or heads are sculptured without any stone background from behind, i.e. rounded complete heads, we do not find tonsured heads.
Shaivite, VAishNavaite cultures do not have a practice of tonsuring heads near temples. MOnks tonsuring their heads is a Buddhist and Jainism practice. Pilgrims visiting Jain and Buddhist places of worship might have tonsured their heads, in reverence towards their Great Gurus.
We can pray Respectable Shri Ramana Dikshitulu, the Chief Priest, to specify whether Lord's idol on the rear side of the head was flat or round. It depends on the method of sculpting. There are some indications that Lord's idol might actually have been the idol of Neminatha, one of the Preceptors of Jainism. If there is any value in that idea, the rear side of the head of Lord will be smooth, which is an indication of a tonsured head of a Jain Guru.
The strongest evidence to believe that LOrd's idol might have been the idol of a Jain Guru stems from "Bukka RAya pact" (बुक्क राया संधि బుక్కరాయ సంధి) of the 14th Century CE. The Bukka Raya Pact was a settlement made by the 2nd Vijayanagara King Bukka Rayalu between Jains and VaishNavas, when both were claiming the Lord's Temple at Tirumala as their own. Context for the pact was, during the same period, another Jain Temple at Sravan Belagola (Karnataka) was also under dispute. Bukka Rayalu was reported to have arranged a compromise between Jains and Vaishnavites that in exchange for king's protection to Shravan Belagola, the Jains should forego their demand for Tirumala Temple. The Bukka Raya pact inscription is said to be available in the custody of Karnatka's Archaeology Dept. Those who want to check it, they can check it.
In the blog-post links given above, we have also analysed the possibility of Venkateswara idol being that of Lord Veerabhadra (an incarnation of LOrd Shiva). We have also examined the possibilities of Lord Virabhadra and Lord Vithoba of Pandharpur being pastoral Gods of cowherds in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. We have also discussed the importance given to cowherds (golla) in the rituals of the Lord, particularly about handling its sanctum-sanctorum key, earling morning procedures etc., and the slogan "gOvindA".
There are numerous conundrums to be resolved around Veerabhadra, Vithoba, Jainism, Buddhism, Yadavas, Matanga Hill, Pampa Sarovar, and the migration of cowherds from in the south-west direction from Mirzapur area in SE Uttar Pradesh, which I have identified as Kishkindha in my Ramayanayb.blogspot.com., blog.
Those who wish to study my ramayanayb blog, here is a link: Click to go to http://ramayanayb.blogspot.com/search/label/194'. This southwest migration of Shaivites/Vaishnavites/Jains via Khajuraho-Chindwara, Ujjain-Malwa-Avanti, crossing the Narmada River, a place which I believe to be Ravana's Lanka, Devagiri-Daulatabad-Aurangabad-area, further southwards to Karnataka's Anegondi-Hampi-Vijayanagaram, Tirupati-Kanchi, Tiruchi-Arunachalam and finally to Madurai.
When we thoroughly check the Valmiki Ramayana and Vyasa Mahabharata, one important observation we can make is, there was no culture of temples, idol-worship. There was only a culture of Yagnams & yAgams (sacrifices), using hOma gunDams (sacred-fire-pits). For example, in Aranya Parva, during the last year of the 14 year exile in Forest, Rama and Lakshmana visited Agastya's hermitage. The Agastya's place of worship has places for 17 Gods apart from Vishnu and INdra, included semi-Saivite Gods like Skandha and Ganapati. But apparently, there was no place of worship for Lord Shiva.
Under pressure from VaishNavaite thrust, Shaivaites and Jains seem to have migrated to South in the route I have depicted above. After repeated invasions of Gujarat, Malva, Khajuraho area, by Ghazni Mohammed, Ghori, Khiljis, Yadavas too seem to have crossed the Narmada River, passed through Daulatabad-Devgiri-Aurangabad, Anegondi-Hampi-Vijayanagar, Tirupati, Tiruchi, ultimately Madurai. There is a very very large Yadava population in Tamil Nadu. We should not think that only Mulayam Singh Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav are Yadavas. It shows the importance of migration of different religious groups following one another and also being chased by Muslim invaders. (Request to readers: Pl. do not come to a hasty conclusion that I am a Yadava or a Jain. Our births in a particular country / religion / caste / region /linguistic group they are all accidental, a sort of random events).
Remaining part 6 will follow shortly.
Links to Previous parts, succeeding parts of this particular subject
Part 1:Click to go to Post 508
Part 2:Click to go to post 511
Part 3:Click to go to post 512
Part 4:Click to go to post 513
Part 5:Click to go to post 584
Part 6:Click to go to post 597
Part 7:
Part 8:
Part 9:
Part 10:
@ ybr "Please do not come to a hasty conclusion that I am a Yadava or a Jain." I wanted to say that no one would mistake you for those two identities. Then again, everything is possible in this world. Some one in their haste already mistook this as a devotional blog. Your declaration at the top of the page, "Atheism and Marxism are probably the only solutions ..." not withstanding. Cheers.
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