Nityannadanam by TTD
In 2006, the then Chairman of the T.T.D. Trust Board provided the facility of offering Srivari āannaprasadamā to all the devotees who came to Tirumala irrespective of the āDarshanā of Srivaru. Later, the TTD started a new building complex for āNityannadanamā. At that time, Matrusri Tharigonda Vengamamba, a devout devotee generously used to offer food to the devotees.
Later, the T.T.D continued the traditional culture of charity by offering food in Tirumala putting the name of Matrusri Tharigonda Vengamamba to the building complex. The scheme of Nityannadanam was also started in Sri Padmavathi Ammavaru at Tiruchanur in the past.
Recently on 29-02-2024 in Sri Govindarajaswamy temple in Tirupati the programme āNityannadanamā was started and going on well every day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is the staunch wish of the TTD that all the devotees in Tirumala, Tirupati and other places should make use of the facility of āannadanamā and get the graceful blessings of Lord Venkateswara.
Food is Divine
āAnnam Parabrahmaswarupamā is a spiritual saying of our elders. Of all gifts, charity is the greatest. Those who give charity will receive āDevalokapujaā. Food is the essential thing that sustains the human body for achieving āPurusharthas.ā Without food, animals will also die. Therefore, offering food means offering life. Food sustains life.
Giving life is giving all things to human beings. So they receive the fruits by the charity. It is said that whoever eats rice can perform any pious work with energy. Half of the virtue i.e., āpunyamā will go to the giver of the food and the other half of it will go to the person who has done the work.
Service to man is service to God.
Offering of food to the hungry is equal to performing a āyajna.ā One can satisfy others with food only. But one cannot satisfy others by offering gold, clothes, or anything else. People still want more and more. But one can hear the word āEnoughā from them by just offering a meal.
It is said that by doing āannadanamā, fame, radiance and strength will be attained in all three worlds. āVedoktiā emphasizes that the first entry into heaven is for those who conduct āannadanam.ā The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams put this maxim into practice.
Eham and Param
There is a concept of āEhamā and āParamā regarding the consumption of āprasadamā in temples. Offering āprasadamā is an orthodox tradition for those who perform puja and other rituals and to the devotees visiting the temple. Some of the festivals are entirely related to āannadanam.ā āThiruppavadaā in Tirumala is similar to this practice.
Sri Saluva Narasimharaya built choultries for doing āannadanamā to satisfy the hunger of the devotees in Tirumala. Under the supervision of Srimad Kandadai Ramanuja Iyengar, āRamanujakutamuluā were formed. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, the worldās largest spiritual organization, has been serving the devotees by offering food freely to them for a long time.
Resuming the tradition of our āsanatana dharma,ā the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams initiated this auspicious deed on 06-04-1985. Initially started with a mere two thousand devotees, the scheme gradually became a major programme. Earlier, this āannaprasadamā scheme was applicable only to the devotees who visited the Lord in the temple.