Ugra Srinivasa is one of the idols in the Tirumala Venkateshvara Temple at

Tirumala Tirumala is a Hindu religious temple town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the neighbourhoods of the Tirupati city. The town is a part of Tirupati Urban Development Authority and located in Tirupat ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. ''Ugra'' means anger and ''Srinivasa'' means Venkateshvara with this idol being originally called ''Venkatatturaivar'' and this idol is showing the angry form of

Venkateshvara Venkateswara (, ), also known as Venkatachalapati, Venkata, Balaji and Srinivasa, is a Hindu deity, described as a form or avatar of the god Vishnu. He is the presiding deity of Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati. His consorts, Padmavati and Bhud ...

. He is also known as ''Snapana Murti''.

Legend

Legend has it that fire broke out in the village destroying houses during

Srivari Brahmotsavam Sri Venkateswara Swami Vari Brahmotsavam or Srivari Brahmotsavam is the most significant annual fête celebrated at the Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala-Tirupati, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh, India. which falls between the Telugu calendar ...

at Tirumala in the 14th century A.D. When prayers were offered to the God, a vision appeared to a devotee with a message from Srinivasa himself. With the change in times, the ''Ugra Srinivasa'' idol could no longer remain the procession idol and a new idol would be found as ''utsava murti'' ( Malayappa Svami). The ''Ugra Srinivasa'' idol is no longer brought out of the temple after sunrise and it is believed that sunrays touching the idol would spark fire in the temple complex.

History

Apart from '' Dhruva Bera'', the idol of ''Ugra Srinivasa'' is the oldest idol in the temple. The date when the idol was consecrated is unknown though records indicate that the idol existed much before the

Bhoga Srinivasa Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala (Sri Venkateshwara Swami Temple) a landmark Vaishnavite temple situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, an incarnatio ...

was presented in the 10th century AD. Records show that the idol was used as ''utsava murti'' till the 14th century A.D. when ''Malayappa Svami'' was found and used as ''utsava murti''. The name ''Venkatatturaivar'' means 'The resident God of Venkatam' in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

language.

Worship

The idol is about 18 inches long and has a base pedestal 7 inches high. The

Sudarshana Chakra The Sudarshana Chakra (, ) is a divine discus, attributed to Vishnu in the Hindu scriptures. The Sudarshana Chakra is generally portrayed on the right rear hand of the four hands of Vishnu, who also holds the Panchajanya (conch), the Kaumodak ...

in the hand of the Lord is called ''Prayoga Chakra'' as it is in a slightly tilted way as if ready for use. The idol has frowning eyebrows to represent an angry face.

Bhudevi Bhumi (Sanskrit: भूमि, romanized: Bhūmi), also known as Bhudevi, Dharani, and Vasundhara, is a significant goddess in Hinduism, personifying the Earth. Her earliest form is reflected in the Vedic goddess Prithvi, though their roles and de ...

and

Sridevi Sridevi Kapoor (née Shree Amma Yanger Ayyapan; 13 August 1963 – 24 February 2018), known mononymously as Sridevi, was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada language films. She is regarded as one of ...

are also found as standing figures and have the same frowning eyebrows. The worship is proportioned solely to this idol on three occasions in a year - ''Uttana Ekadasi'', ''Mukkoti Dvadasi,'' ''Dvadasaradhana''. The idol is bought in procession at wee hours only on ''Kaisika Dvadasi'' (also known as ''Mukkoti Dvadasi'') while the idol is worshipped inside the temple complex on the remaining two occasions.

Relevance of Kaisika Dvadasi

''Sri Vaishnavas'' called ''Prabodhotsava'' or ''Uttana Dvadasi'' as ''Kaisika Dvadasi''. On the Uttana Dvadasi, preparations are made for waking

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, who went to sleep on ''Ashada Shukla Ekadasi'' (Vishnu Sayana Ekadasi). Among Sri Vaishnavas, this Dvadasi is known as Kaisika Dvadasi named after the ragam of a song which was used last in praise of the Lord by devotee Chandala Bhakta Nambaduvan. Bhakta Nambaduvan kept his word and returned to a ''Rakshasa'' (demon) to offer his body to be devoured as food by the hungry Rakshasa and Vishnu drives the Rakshasa away and saves him. The reading of the Kaisika Purana, which is specially composed in a dialect which is a mixture (manipravalam) of Sanskrit and Tamil and Telugu interspersed with Sanskrit quotations and vernacular explanations is the special feature of the early hours of the morning before day break.

References

{{Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala Tirumala Idols