LEGEND of TIRUMALA
According to the scripture Sthala Purana, the legend of Venkateshwara's avatar (incarnation) is as follows,Once some rishis headed by Kasyapa began to perform a sacrifice on the banks of the Ganges. Sage Narada visited them and asked them why they were performing the sacrifice and who would be pleased by it. Not being able to answer the question, the rishis approached Sage Bhrugu, who according to Vedas is believed to have an extra eye in the sole of his foot. To reach a solution after a direct ascertainment of reality, Sage Bhrigu first went to Satyaloka, the abode of Lord Brahma. At Satyaloka, he found Lord Brahma, reciting the four Vedas in praise of Lord Narayana, with each of his four heads, and attended upon by Saraswati. Lord Brahma did not take notice of Bhrigu offering obeisance. Concluding that Lord Brahma was unfit for worship, Bhrigu left Satyaloka for Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva. At Kailasa, Bhrigu found Lord Shiva with Parvati and not noticing his presence. left for Vaikunta, the abode of Lord Vishnu.
At Vaikunta, Lord Vishnu was reposing on Adisesha with Sri Mahalakshmi in service at his feet. Finding that Lord Vishnu also did not notice him, the sage was infuriated and kicked the Lord on His chest, the place where Mahalakshmi resides. Vishnu, in an attempt to pacify the sage, got hold of legs of the sage and started to press them gently in a way that was comforting to the sage. During this act, he squeezed the extra eye that was present in the sole of Bhrigu's foot. The extra eye is believed to represent the sage's egotism. The sage then realised his grave mistake and apologized to Vishnu. Thereupon, the sage concluded that Lord Vishnu was the most supreme of the Trimurti and told the rishis the same.
Sri Mahalakshmi was angered by the action of her Lord in apologising to Bhrigu who committed an offence. Out of anger and anguish she left Vaikuntha and resided in Karavirapur now known as Kolhapur. After the departure of Mahalakshmi, a forlorn Lord Vishnu left Vaikunta, came down to Earth, and took abode in an ant-hill under a tamarind tree, beside a pushkarini on the Venkata Hill, meditating for the return of Lakshmi, without food or sleep.
Taking pity on Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Maheshwara decided to assume the forms of a cow and its calf to serve him. Surya, the Sun god informed Mahalakshmi of this and requested her to assume the form of a cow herdess and sell the cow and calf to the king of the Chola country. The king of the Chola country bought the cow and its calf and sent them to graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of cattle. Discovering Lord Vishnu on the ant-hill, the cow provided its milk, and thus fed the Lord. Meanwhile, at the palace, the cow was not yielding any milk, for which the Chola Queen chastised the cowherd severely. To find out the cause of lack of milk, the cowherd followed the cow, hid himself behind a bush and discovered the cow emptying her udder over the ant-hill. Incensed over the conduct of the cow, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow. However, Lord Vishnu rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow. When the cowherd saw the Lord bleed at the blow of his axe, he fell down and died of shock.
The cow returned to the Chola King, bellowing in fright and with blood stains all over her body. To find out the cause of the cow's terror, the King followed her to the scene of the incident. The King found the cowherd lying dead on the ground near the ant-hill. While he stood wondering how it had happened, Lord Vishnu rose from the ant-hill and cursed the King saying that he would become an Asura because of the fault of his servant. The King pleaded innocence, and the Lord blessed him by saying that he will be reborn as Akasa Raja and that the curse would end when the Lord will be adorned with a crown presented by Akasa Raja at the time of His marriage with Padmavati. With these words Lord turned into stone form.
Thereafter, Lord Vishnu in the name of Srinivasa, decided to stay in Varaha Kshetra and requested Sri Varahaswami to grant Him a site for His stay. His request being readily granted, Srinivasa ordained that a pilgrimage to His shrine would not be complete unless it is preceded by a bath in the Pushkarini and darshan of Sri Varahaswami and that puja and naivedyam should be offered to Sri Varaha swami first. Vishnu built a hermitage and lived there, attended to by Vakuladevi who looked after him like a mother.
Sometime later, a King named Akasa Raja who belonged to the Lunar race was ruling over Thondamandalam. Akasa Raja had no heirs, and therefore, he wanted to perform a sacrifice. As part of the sacrifice, he was ploughing the fields when his plough turned up a lotus in the ground. On examining the lotus, the King found a female child in it. The king was happy to find a child even before he performed a sacrifice and carried it to his place and gave it to his Queen to tend to it. At that time he heard an aerial voice which said "O King, tend it as your child and fortune will befall you". As she was found in a lotus, the king named her Padmavati. She grew up as a princess into a beautiful maiden and was attended by a host of maids.
One day, Lord Srinivasa, who was hunting, chased a wild elephant in the forests surrounding the hills. In the elephant's pursuit, the Lord was led into a garden, where Princess Padmavati and her maids were picking flowers. The sight of the elephant frightened the Princess and her maids. But the elephant immediately turned around, saluted the Lord and disappeared into the forest. Lord Srinivasa, who was following on horse back, and saw the frightened maidens. However, He was repulsed with stones thrown at Him by the maids. He returned to the hills in haste, leaving His horse behind. The Lord informed Vakuladevi that unless he married Princess Padmavati he would not be calmed.
The Lord then narrated the story of Padmavati’s previous birth and his promise to marry her. After listening to Srinivasa's story of how he had promised to marry Vedavati in her next birth as Padmavati, Vakuladevi realised that Srinivasa would not be happy unless he married her. She offered to go to Akasa Raja and his Queen and arrange for the marriage. On the way she met the maids of Padmavati returning from a Shiva Temple. She learnt from them that Padmavati was also pining for Srinivasa. Vakuladevi went along with the maid servants to the Queen.
Meanwhile, Akasa Raja and his Queen Dharanidevi were anxious about the health of their daughter, Padmavati. They learnt about Padmavathi's love for Srinivasa of Venkata Hill. Akasa Raja consulted Brihaspati about the marriage and was informed that the marriage was in the best interest of both the parties. Kubera lent money to Lord Srinivasa to meet the expenses of the marriage. Lord Srinivasa, along with Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva started the journey to the residence of Akasa Raja on his vahana Garuda. At the palace entrance, Lord Srinivasa was received by Akasa Raja with full honours and taken in procession on a mounted elephant to the palace for the marriage. In the presence of all the Devas, Lord Srinivasa married Princess Padmavati, thus blessing Akasa Raja. Together, they lived for all eternity while Goddess Lakshmi, understanding the commitments of Lord Vishnu, chose to live in his heart forever.
Venkateshwara's temple, today is located at the top of the Seven hills in Tirumala. It stands as a special place, commemorating the marriage between the two. Everyday, a kalyana utsavam celebrates the divine union in a celebration that stretches to eternity. Even today, during the Brahmotsavam at the temple, turmeric, kumkum and a sari are sent from the temple to Tiruchanur, the abode of Padmavati. In fact Tirupati is rarely visited without paying a visit to Tiruchanur. In the light of this background, it has become the favored destination of many newly wed couples who pray for a happy wedding similar to that of Srinivasa and Padmavati.
A tale associated with the temple goes thus: A helper boy called Bala was once falsely accused of being a thief. When people started chasing him he had to run for his life. He was hit on the head by the mob and his head started bleeding profusely. He ran to the Tirupati Temple of Lord Vishnu and ran to the main door of the temple. When the people entered the temple, they couldn't find the boy but saw the head of God's idol bleeding. It was considered that the boy was sheltered and protected by Vishnu himself, and the priests put cloth on the idol's head to control the bleeding.
In the southern wing of the mandapam, is a statue of Venkatapathi Raya of the Aravidu dynasty, who ruled over Chandragiri around 1570 AD. To the side are stone statues of Achyutha Raya and his wife Varadajiamma. This mandapam was built during the later Vijayanagara rule. It is filled with beautiful pictures of the Vijayanagara period. Vaishnava symbols or the Urdhvapundras flanked by a conch and disc are carved at the top of the two main pillars of the mandapam. The Ranga Mandapam is also called the Ranganayakula Mandapam and is located in the southeastern corner of the Sampangi Pradakshinam. The shrine is where the utsava murti of Lord Ranganadha of Srirangam was kept during the 14th century, when Muslim rulers occupied Srirangam. The Yadava ruler Sri Ranganadha Yadava Raya constructed it in Vijayanagar style between 1320 and 1360 AD. 
The Aina Mahal is on the northern side of the Tirumala Raya Mandapam and consists of two parts - an open mandapam in the front consisting of six rows comprising six pillars each, and a shrine behind it consisting of an Antarala and Garbhagriha. It has large mirrors, which reflect images. There is an unjal in the middle of the room where the Lord is seated and festivals are conducted. The Dhwajasthambha Mandapam houses the Dhwajastambha (a wooden flagpole encased in gold) and the Bali Peetha (seat for food offering). A peculiar feature of the Mandapam is that it is covered (unlike in other temples) to facilitate the conduct of rituals in all weather conditions. The relative positions of the Dhwajasthambha and the Bali Peetha are in accordance with Vaikhanasa Agamic traditions. 
The Potu or main kitchen where the food-offerings for the main temple are prepared is to the south of the Varadarajaswami shrine. Inside the Potu is a small shrine dedicated to Lakshmi and she is also called Potu Amma (lady of the kitchen) or Madapuli Nachiyar. She is acknowledged as Vakulamalika, who according to the Puranas was sent by Varahaswami to be the housekeeper of Sri Venkateswara, when he resided on the hill. She is also said to have arranged Lord Venkateswara`s marriage with Padmavathi. She is Lakshmi, and is worshipped so during Varalakshmi Vratam, in the month of Sravana. An icon of Lakshmi can be seen at Padi Potu, another kitchen is located in the Sampangi Pradakshinam. The rice prasadam is prepared in the inner Potu, while other laddus, vadas appams etc., are prepared in the Padi potu. 
The main shrine includes the sanctum and three consecutive halls in front right up till Bangaru Vakili. These are the Snapana Mandapam - a square hall, Ramar Meda - a rectangular hall, and Sayana Mandapam - also rectangular in shape, where the Ekanta Seva is performed. Adjacent to the porch of Bhashyakara Sannidhi on the west side is a small room called Talapakamara or Sankeertana Bhandara. It was constructed to preserve the collection of sankeertanas composed by the Talapaka poets - Talapaka Annamacharya, his son Pedda Tirumalacharya and grandson Chinna Tirumalacharya, who were the minstrels attached to the temple. In front of the Potu is a well called Bangaru Bavi. The site as mentioned in the Vaikhanasa Agamas was constructed according to Vijayanagara style. 
The Snapana Mandapam is also called the Tiruvilan kovil. It has four central pillars, with the sculptures of Bala Krishna, Yoga Narasimha and Kaliayamardhana. One such impressive sculpture is that of Vishnu seated with four arms - the upper arms hold the chakra and the shankha. The Lord`s consorts are seated in Sukh asana on either side. Ramar Meda, is an elevated platform for Rama housed the icons of Rama, Sita and Laxmana, but has been moved to the sanctum. Utsava Murthis of Vishvaksena and Garuda have their own shrines. 
The Sayana Mandapam, also called the Ardha Mandapam, is directly in front of the sanctum. This is as close as the pilgrims can get to the inner sanctum. The mandapam is connected to the sanctum by a gate called kulasekhara-padi named after an Alwar saint who wished to be reborn as the threshold to the Lord`s shrine. This mandapam is used to perform rituals that cannot take place in the sanctum. The garbha griha or sanctum is where the main idol of Lord Sri Venkateswara resides. Sanctum is where the idol of the Lord stands. In between the sanctum and the Sayana Mandapam, is the threshold called the Kulasekhara-padi. The idol stands directly beneath the gilt dome called Ananda Nilaya Divya Vimana. Pilgrims are not allowed to enter the garbha griha. 
The kalyanotsavam or marriage festival is celebrated in the Kalyana Mandapam. It is similar to the Tirumala Raya Mandapam. To the west is a small mandapam carried on slender cut-stone pillars and surmounted by a vimana. To the south is the Yagasala where yagyas related to Brahmotsavam and other festivals are performed. Close to the Sangeeta Bhandara in the northern corridor of the Vimana Pradakshinam is the shrine of Sri Ramanuja and is also called the Bhashyakara Sannidhi. Ramanuja was the architect of Tirupati and the father of the Sri Vaishnava community here. 
Sri Narasimhaswami shrine is located to the left of the Ramanuja shrine and hold an idol of Sri Yoga Narasimha. Built in the 15th century, it is surrounded by a polished mandapam. Dance poses are sculptured on the pillars. Yoga Narasimhaswami is also known as Girija Narasimhaswami. He is seated with his hands on his knees, and girdled by the Yogapatta. A ceremonial bath (Tiru-Manjana) is given to the idol in the sanctum on Saturdays; and on the fourteenth day of the bright half of the month of Vaisakha (according to the lunar calendar) Swati Nakshathram the idol is specially worshipped on account of Narasimha Jayanti. 
On the eastern side of the mandapam is a small shrine dedicated to Garuda. On the north side is a gangala or large brass vessel covered with a fabric, for depositing all votive offerings. From the Tirumamani you can enter the Bangaru Vakili to reach the inner sanctum. There are two tall copper images of the dwarapalakas Jaya and Vijaya on either side of the door. The thick wooden door is covered with gilt plates depicting the dasavataram of Vishnu. The doorway is in direct line with the Padi Kavali and the Vendi Vakili and it admits pilgrims to the Snapana Mandapam. The Suprabhatam is sung in front of this door. 
The temple of Sri Venkateswara has acquired unique sanctity in Indian religious lore. The Sastras, Puranas, Sthala Mahatyams and Alwar hymns unequivocally declare that, in the Kali Yuga, one can attain mukti, only by worshipping Venkata Nayaka or Sri Venkateswara. 
The Aina Mahal
