Goddess Padmavathi Devi at Tiruchanur
The temple town of Tiruchanur located at the base of Tirumala is the abode of Goddess Padmavathi Devi, the divine consort of Lord Srinivasa. To the millions of devotees pouring in from all over the world, the pilgrimage to the Seven Hills begins with the ‘darshan’ of the Devi.
Once they are showered with the blissful grace of the Divine Mother, they feel confident of approaching the Lord on the Hills. They pray to the Goddess to make their Tirumala Yatra fruitful and entreat Her to intervene on their behalf and secure the Lord’s ‘darshan’ and blessings for them.
“Sahadharmachareem sourehe
sammantiritha jagaddhitham
Anugrahamayeem vande
nithyam agnyatha nigraham”
(Yatiraja Saptati – Swami Desikan)
The prayer of Swami Desikan throws light on the significant role of the Divine Mother in protecting the world. She is the consort who is ever-present with the Almighty. She is the compassionate one who is incapable of punishing anyone. It can be said that She is the personification of benevolence.
Tiruchanur is constantly humming with daily ‘pujas’, ‘archana’ and the endless flow of the devotees. Kalyanothsavam is performed every day like on the Seven Hills and Fridays auspicious to the goddess, elaborate ‘abhishekam’ is performed.
Tiruchanur Karthika Brahmotsavam
The month of Karthika marks the day when the Goddess Padmavathi appeared in the Padma Sarovar, the temple tank. This celestial event is celebrated with an annual Brahmotsavam of ten days culminating in the Theerthavari on the sacred Panchami. On this holy ‘avatara’ day the priests invoke the bountiful grace of the Goddess for peace, prosperity and happiness to all.
This year Tiruchanur Karthika Brahmotsavam will be celebrated starting with Dwajarohanam on 28th November 2024 and concluding with the Panchami Theertham on December 6th 2024. The Gaja Vahanam special to the Goddess will be on 2nd December 2024.
Lakhs of devotees will be present to enjoy the festivities while millions who cannot be there will get blissful ‘darshan’ from their homes through the SVBC telecast. The live coverage brings beautiful visuals of the temple Rajagopuram, the glittering gold inlaid Vimanam, the gorgeous decorations, the sacred Pushkarini, the Vahana Sevas, Prabandha and the chanting of the Vedas, dance and musical performances of the devotees.
More importantly, the TV coverage gives us ‘darshan’ of the glowing form of the goddess giving a personalized special satisfaction that can’t be experienced even when we are physically present there in the big crowd.
Lord Sriman Narayana incarnates in the various ‘yugas’ in different forms and in all these incarnations His divine consort Sri Mahalakshmi also assumes suitable roles to be with Him for the welfare of the world. In the Lord’s ‘archa avatara’ as Lord Srinivasa, the divine consort was born as Akasha Rajas’s daughter Padmavathi Devi and married Lord Srinivasa.
The very name of Sri Mahalakshmi is commonly associated with worldly riches. But to understand the real significance of Her grace one must look at the eight different forms in which She is worshipped. All these are representations in iconography to explain the numerous ways in which Her abundant grace manifests.
‘Adi Lakshmi’ is the primordial form of the Goddess who is with the Almighty when He creates the entire universe which He does for Her pleasure and per Her desire. The origin of all life is from the Divya Dampatulu (Divine couple). When the Lord makes various incarnations the Goddess too takes various suitable forms to participate in all His ‘leelas’ and to protect us.
‘Dhana Lakshmi’ is the Goddess of wealth who bestows the resources needed by us for pursuing our ‘sanatana dharma.’ Taking care of the family, contributing to social and religious activities are the duties of all householders for which we pray for abundant income.
‘Dhaanya Lakshmi’ grants abundance of food grains and bountiful harvests. Food sustains all life and copious rains ensure food security and freedom from hunger and famines.
Goddess Padmavathi is presiding in the form of ‘Gaja Lakshmi’ at Tiruchanur. The resplendent, regal ‘archa moorthy’ seated on a golden lotus is worshipped by two elephants on either side. This captures the incarnation of the goddess in the Padma Sarovar, the temple tank when She was worshipped by celestial elephants with ‘abhishekam’ and floral garlands. Gaja Lakshmi is the symbol of power and strength.
‘Santhana Lakshmi’ is the form of the Divine Mother that grants the boon of good progeny. We all want our children to have good health, and character and pray that they follow traditions in the path of their elders.
The course of life in this world is rough and we face various trials and problems. To face these challenges we require mental strength and faith which is granted by ‘Dhairya Lakshmi’. The mercy of the Goddess follows us like an umbrella sheltering us from torrid heat or like a boat that sails through the turbulent sea. We are assured victory in our rightful pursuits by ‘Vijaya Lakshmi’.
There are numerous fields of knowledge and expertise necessary for our material and spiritual progress. We pray to ‘Vidya Lakshmi’ to bless us with success in all our endeavours. Let us offer obeisance to Sri Padmavathi Devi, the consort of Lord Srinivasa, who is the Mother of the Universe and is the personification of the Lord’s grace. May She bless us with the milk of spiritual wisdom!
“Samasta jananeem vande
chaitanya stanya dhayineem
Shreyaseem Srinivasasya
karunamivaroopineem”
(Daya Sathakam – Swami Desikan)
