Tirupati is a famous pilgrimage city, well known as temple city located in the south-eastern part of Andra Pradesh in Chittoor district, India. Tirupati is temple town located at the foot of Tirumala. Tirumala is famous for Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple. Lord Venkateswara is also called as Balaji, "Srinivasa", "Venkatachallapathy", "Govinda". The temple is visited by about 50,000 to 100,000 pilgrims daily (30 to 40 million people annually on average), 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.
Lord Vishnu has self manifested and resided here (Tirupati) as Lord Venkateswara. It is believed that Lord Balaji will reside here for the entire Kali Yuga. Tirumala hill is located at about 3200ft above sea level. Tirumala has seven hills, representing the seven heads of a huge serpent called AadiSesha, as Lord Vishnu rests on it.
Design: Made in brass.
Brass is well known for its grasping capacity. It grasps the divine spirit upto 30%, when compared to other metals. The spiritual vibrations are attracted towards these shining idols easily.
Dimensions of Idol: 11.5 inches (H) x 8 inches (W) approx
Dimensions of Chowki: 8 inches (W) x 2.5 inches (H) approx
Dimensions of Shankhu: 10 inches (H) x 3 inches (W) approx
Total Weight: 7.5 kgs approx
Importance of Idol worship: Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to and flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it. Regular worship, Puja and other modes of demonstrating our inner feeling of recognition of Divinity in the idol unveils the Divinity latent in it. This is truly a wonder and a miracle. The picture comes to life. The idol speaks. It will answer your questions and solve your problems. The God in you has the power to awaken the latent Divinity in the idol. The lives of Mirabai, Sant Tukaram, Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Shri Yogananda are a few instances to prove the point. They proved beyond doubt that idol worship has its own brighter side and through simple faith and intense devotion one can realize God through it.
Idols are the "finite representation of the Infinite". As per Vishnu Samhita (ch 29, v 55-7), persuasively endorses the use of imagery (idols) and puts it: "Without a form how can God be mediated upon? If (He is) without any form, where will the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for the mind to attach itself to, it will slip away from meditation or will glide into a state of slumber. Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, remembering, however, that the form is a superimposition and not a reality.