Raghoji Bhonsle, the Maratha general, visited the temple and set up a permanent endowment for the conduct of worship in the temple. He presented valuable jewels to the Lord, including a large emerald, which is still preserved in a box named after the General. Among the later rulers who have endowed large amounts are the rulers of Mysore and Gadwal.

During the rule of the Vijayanagar dynasty contributions made to the temple increased enormously. Krishnadevaraya had statues of himself and his consorts installed at the portals of the Tirupati temple, and these statues can be seen to this day. There is also a statue of Venkatapati Raya in the main temple at Tirupati.

After the fall of Hindu kingdoms, came the Muslim rulers of Karnataka and after their downfall the British took over, and many of the temples came under their supervisory and protective control.

In 1843 AD, the East India Company divested itself of the direct management of non-Christian places of worship and native religious institutions.

The City

Tirupati City is located in the southeastern part of Andhra Pradesh State. It lies about 152-km northwest of Chennai in the Palkonda Hills. Tirupati is known as the abode of the Hindu god Venkateshvara (also spelt as 'Venkatesvara'), "Lord of Seven Hills". About 10-km northwest of Tirupati, at an elevation of 750m, is the sacred hill of Tirumala, which was considered so holy that before 1870 non-Hindus were not permitted to ascend it.

The Shrine

The origins of the site are legendary. Its beginnings are shrouded in great antiquity and its origins are still a matter of scholarly debate. Sangam literature, the earliest of Tamil literature (dated between 500 B.C to 300 A.D), mentions Tirupati as Thrivengadam which used to form the northernmost frontier of the Tamil Kingdoms. Sangam literature, such as Ilango Vadigal's Silapadikaram and Satanar's Manimeghalai, bear testimony to the existence of a shrine at Tirupati. Puranic literature which was composed roughly around the post-Mauryan and early-Gupta era also mentions of Tirupati as the Aadhi Varaha Kshetra. The Puranas associate the site with Lord Varaha one of the incarnations of Lord Vishnu. The Varaha shrine holds great importance in Tirupati and is said to be older than the main sanctum of Venkateswara. While some scholars accept the antiquity of the shrine they believe that the image of Venkateswara was not originally that of Vishnu but of a buddhist deity, perhaps bodhisattva avalokiteswara. The region of Andhra in which Tirupati is located in was already known for the existence of ancient Buddhist sites of the Satavahana era, namely Nagarjunakonda and Amravati, thus scholars suggest that the ancient site of Tirupati was probably a buddhist site prior to its transformation into a Hindu one after Buddhism saw its decline in the face of Guptan Hindu Rennaissance. Even up to the time of Ramanuja, the famous Vaishnava scholar of the 12th century, the identity of the deity was still disputed until Ramanuja confirmed it to be Vishnu.

Some Facts

The Venkateshwara temple is managed by a trust called Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
The temple has a Golden "Vimanam" or Pyramidical roof over the deity.
The deity has also over 1000 kg of gold and diamond jewellery, making it one of the richest temple treasures.

How to Get There

Air:
Tirupati airport is 15km from the city. Flights to Tirupati are available from Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai and Vijayawada. Indian Airlines, Opposite Central Bus stand

Rail:
Tirupati railway station is in the centre of the town. Good rail links with Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad etc. There are trains via Renigunta (10km from Tirupati) or Gudur nearby. From Renigunta / Gudur one can reach Tirupati by train, bus, or taxi.

Bus:
APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) buses run from all the important places in the south and between Tirupati and Tirumala. TTD also runs buses between Tirupati and Tirumala, free of cost. There are two bus stations, Sri Venkateshwara and Sri Padmavathy near the railway station to take the pilgrims to Tirumala.