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Tirupati Balaji, TTD

Tirupati is a city in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Tirupati, TTD is considered one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites because of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, besides other historical temples, and is referred to as the "Spiritual Capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Tiru means Sacred and also referred to as Goddess Lakshmi and Pathi means Husband. So, it is the sacred abode of Lord Vishnu.

According to Varaha Purana, during Treta Yuga, Lord Sri Rama resided here along with Sita Devi and Lakshmana on his return from Lanka.

The town was an established center of Vaishnavism around the 5th century A.D. during which it was praised by Alvars. The temple rites were formalized by the Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya in the 11th century AD.
The temple was built and upgraded in parts by various kingdoms. The inscriptions in the temple were found in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages of which majority are in Tamil followed by Telugu, Kannada and Sanskrit which specify the contributions of the Pallava Kingdom around the 9th century AD, Chola Kingdom around the 10th century AD and the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century AD.

Tirumala is the abode of Lord Vishnu(Venkateshara), according to puranas, The Temple is dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, an incarnation 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 Vaikuntham and Lord here is referred to as Kaliyuga Prathyaksha Daivam.

The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrushabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri.

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, 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.
The temple has a murti (deity) of Lord Venkateswara, which it is believed shall remain here for the entire duration of the present Kali Yuga.

Vijayanagara Emperor Krishnadevaraya, on one of his many visits to the temple, donated gold and jewels, enabling the Ananda Nilayam.
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