Sri Srinivasa Divyaanugraha Homam
Sri Srinivasa Divyaanugraha Homam is the latest sacred offering from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams for the devotees seeking the Lord’s divine blessings.
The Homam was formally inaugurated in November 2023, marking the auspicious occasion of Utthana Ekadasi in the sacred Kartheeka month under the aegis of TTD Trust Board Chairman Sri Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and TTD Executive Officer, Sri A.V. Dharma Reddy, I.D.E.S.
Homam
‘Homam’ is a sacred ritual that has an important role in invoking the blessings of the Lord Almighty through Agni, according to Hindu Dharmic scriptures. For the devotees visiting Tirupati, having an eyeful of darshan at Tirumala gives them enough contentment and they feel blessed for a lifetime. However, participating in a sacred ritual like a ‘Homam’ at the lotus feet of Lord Venkateswara that directly invokes the blessings of the Almighty takes the spiritual bliss to an all-time high.
At Alipiri
It was with this intention that the TTD management came up with the idea of conducting a ‘Homam’ at Alipiri, Tirupati by roping in Sri Venkateswara Vedic University. Performing a Homam is usually an expensive custom for an individual, but when it is a ‘Samoohika Homam’, i.e., performed collectively by a group, it turns out to be economical as the cost is shared by all the beneficiaries.
When such a Homam is performed by none other than the TTD, the custodian of Lord Venkateswara, it also gets an enhanced devotional fervor.
For this Homam, teaching staff from the Department of Vaikhanasa Agama, Sri Venkateswara Vedic University, Tirupati are conducting the Homam in tune with the doctrine of Vaikhanasa Agama. The process includes the conduct of Viswaksena Puja, Punyahavachanam, Sadhyonkurarpana, and tying of ‘Raksha Sutram’ or ‘Deeksha Kankanam’ to the deity of Sri Venkateswara.
Sankalpam
‘Sankalpam’ will be performed after reading out the ‘Gotra Nama’ of all the participants. ‘Nava Kundams’ are arranged at the spot, dedicated to each of the Lord’s nine divine forms such as Vishnu, Purusha, Satya, Achyuta, Aniruddha, Kapila, Yagna, Narayana and Punya.
With Chaturveda and Sastra Parayanam, ‘Kumbhaaradhana’ will be performed, and ‘Ashtothara Namavali’ will be read out while offering ‘Harathi Samarpana’ to the deity as well as the Kundams. Hymns from the Panchasuktam will be read out, along with ‘Ekakshara Suktam’, which is mentioned in Vaikhanasa Agama.
Similarly, ‘Paaramatmika Upanishad’ found in the form of 108 Mantras in Vaikhanasa Agama is read out, narrating the divine qualities of Maha Vishnu, the glory of His Dasavatharas, details of the universe, and the five elements ‘Panchabhuta Tattva’.
Sri Srinivasa Divyaanugraha Homam – Venue
Sri Venkateswara Saptha Go Pradakshinasala at Alipiri, Tirupati has been chosen as the venue for the event, so that the academics from the nearby Vedic University are accessible for the daily event. Apart from the seven existing faculty members, the university has appointed four more academicians to conduct the ritual.
The ‘Homam’ also serves as an internship opportunity for the senior students of the Vaikhanasa Agama Department, who get hands-on training in the ritual. Devotees feel that participating in the Homam and getting the divine grace showered on them makes their pilgrimage complete a full circle. Let us participate in this Divine Homam and be blessed by Lord Srinivasa.
More details
The event is performed between 9 am and 11 am daily. The participation is restricted at present to 200 Grihasthas (400 persons) at a time, for which 150 tickets are reserved online and 50 made available offline for the devotees at Alipiri in Tirupati.
The price of the ticket is fixed at Rs.1000/- on which two persons will be allowed.
The TTD plans to expand it to 500 tickets a day soon, for which a bigger ‘Homa Vedika’ will be built close by. Participants at this Homam will get an opportunity to buy Rs.300 tickets for darshan at Tirumala.
