Every
Thursday after sattumari, Tiruppavada seva get into existence in Tirumamani
mantapam. This service includes cooking a large quantity of rice as pulihora
and presenting it to the Lord all along with other sweet arrangements such as
payasam, laddu, jilebi, thenthola, appam etc. The cooked rice is piled up in
mukha mantapam to take definite customary pyramidal trapezoid shape and the
delicacies are deposited thereon with coconuts, flowers, sandal paste, kumkum,
deepam and are offered to the Lord with suitable mantras.
This is a
only one of its kind and wonderful Seva among all the other methods of worship
offered to The Lord Venkateshwara. It is executed every Thursday Morning
preliminary around 5:30AM.
Earlier
every Friday right in the early morning of the following Thursday, The typical
famous Huge, Wide “Naamam” (a decoration with perfumed camphor paste around the
forehead for all forms of Vishnu, The Vaishnavait Hindu God) embellish Sri
Venkateshwara forehead layering all except part of His Eyes.
Removing
this Naamam and bathing The Lord (Abhishekam) and for a second time adorning
Him with a New wide Naamam on the very same day (Friday) was well thought-out
too time consuming, In order to control the rush of pilgrims and the time
control for a Seva.
Therefore,
The TTD commenced a New Seva every Thursday Morning by the Name of
“Tiruppavada“. A gigantic bundle of cooked Tamarind spiced rice (Pulihora) is
emptied on a gold covered tray (Size about 6 ft X 4 ft) and located straight in
front of The Lord such that it is concerning a pair of feet in front of His
mount, Sri Garudalwar, in the vestibule area of The Temple’s Sanctum Sanctorum.
Amid
reciting of Mantras, The earlier wide Naamam is stripped off and a thin Naamam
is decked on His forehead just to cover up the space connecting His eyebrows.
When this happens, it is supposed that The Lord’s first stare after “opening”
His Eyes (because they were covered by The Naamam) should NOT fall on mortals,
because it has so much authority. Instead, it is made to fall on the mass of
“Pulihora” directly in front of Him, thereby blessing it and plummeting the
intensity of His Gaze. The “Pulihora” therefore acts like a curtain (“Paavada”
in Telugu/Tamil) shielding devotees from His Powerful Gaze.
This new
Thin Naamam then stays for the entire Thursday, and in conclusion peeled off
totally in the early hours of the next morning (Friday) throughout Abhishekam.
One ticket
for the Tiruppavada Seva permitts 6 people to take part including one couple
for Sankalpam and begets a complete basket of holy food cooked inside The
Temple – “Prasadam” – 7 Big Laddus, 1/4Kilo of Pulihora, 5 humongous Jilebis
(only cooked for this Seva), 5 dosas, and 5 big Vadas and 5 Jilebi Vadas.
This is a
distinctive in its own way and discriminating Seva among all the methods of
worship presented to The Lord Venkateswara. It is executed every Thursday
Morning starting 7AM.