Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of Tirupati district. It is known for its significant religious and cultural heritage, being home to the renowned Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, a major Hindu pilgrimage site, as well as other historic temples.
Tirupati is the second largest city in the Rayalaseema region, after Kurnool. According to the 2011 census of India, Tirupati had a population of 287,035, making it the ninth most populous city in Andhra Pradesh, while the larger urban agglomeration had a population of 459,985, ranking it the seventh largest in the state.
In 2012–2013, Tirupati was recognized by India's Ministry of Tourism as the "Best Heritage City".
Etymology
In Dravidian origin,
means sacred, Honourable, or
Lakshmi and
pati, a
Sanskrit word
[Monier Williams (1899) “पति”, in, new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 582/1.] meaning abode, residence, or
husband. Tirupati (
Tirumala) is referred to as Pushpa-mandapa in
Acharya-Hrdayam (13th century).
History
Puranas
According to
Varaha Purana, during
Treta Yuga,
Rama resided here with
Sita and
Lakshmana on his return from Lankapuri.
As per the Purana, a loan of one crore and 11.4 million gold coins was sought by Venkateswara from Kubera for his marriage with Padmavathi. To pay back the loan, devotees from all over India visit the temple and donate money.
Ancient history
Tirupati was developed by
Pallava Kings from 6th century onwards. The city became a great Vaishnava centre during the time of
Ramanujacharya in 11th century, from where Srivaishnavism spread to other parts of Andhra Desa. Srikurmam Temple in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh bears the inscription,
Tirupati Srivaishnavula Raksha.
Tirupati survived the
Muslim invasions by accepting to pay
Jizya to the Muslims. During the early 1300s
Malik Kafur of South India, the idol of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping.
The temple town for most of the medieval era was part of Vijayanagara Empire until the 17th century and its rulers contributed considerable resources and wealth, notable among whom are Krishna Deva Raya and Achyuta Deva Raya, Sadasiva Raya and Tirumala Deva Raya.
The city has many historical temples including the Venkateswara Temple which bears 1,150 inscriptions in the Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada languages.
Kattedura Vaikuntamu Kaanachaina Konda
Thettalaya Mahimale Tirumala Konda ||
Vedamulae Silalai Velasinadi Konda
Yedesa Punya Rasule Yerulainadi Konda
Gadili Brahmadi Lokamula Konalu Konda
Sree Devudundeti Seshadri Konda ||
There was no human settlement at lower Tirupati until 1500. With the growing importance of upper Tirupati, a village formed at the present-day Kapilatheertham Road area and was named "kotturu". It was later shifted to the vicinity of Govindarajaswamy Temple which was consecrated around the year 1130 CE. Later the village grew into its present-day form around Govindaraja Swamy Temple which is now the heart of the city. It has now gained a lot of popularity as a tourism place.
Modern history
In 1932, Tirumala Venkateswara Temple was handed over to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams by the TTD Act of 1932. In 2006, Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) and TTD together conducted "Tirupati Utsavam" which focused on the history of development of Tirupati town, kings who visited Tirumala and their contribution for development of the temple.
The fourth World Telugu Conference, a conference for furtherance of
Telugu language, was conducted at Tirupati during December 2012 for three days.
In January 2017, the 104th Indian Science Congress (ISCA) meeting was held in Tirupati.
Geography
Tirupati is located at in the Tirupati district of
Andhra Pradesh state in southern
India. Tirupati lies at the foot of Seshachalam Hills of
Eastern Ghats which were formed during
Precambrian era.
One of its suburbs,
Tirumala, which is home to Sri Venkateswara Temple, is located within the hills.
Tirupati Urban Development Authority includes Tirupati (City),
Renigunta,
Chandragiri, and census towns Akkarampalle, Avilala, Cherlopalle, Mangalam, Peruru, Settipalle, Thummala gunta (part), Timminaidupalle,
Tiruchanur, Tirupati (NMA).
Tirupati is surrounded by
Srikalahasti towards the east, Puttur towards the south, Pakala towards the west and the Seshachalam hills (
Tirumala) towards the north.
Swarnamukhi river originates in Chandragiri Hills and passes through the Tirupati City before reaching Srikalahasti in the east.
Environment
Geology
At the point on the Tirupati – Tirumala ghat road, there is a major discontinuity of
stratigraphic significance that represents a period of remarkable serenity in the geological history of the
Earth. This is referred to as Eparchaean Unconformity. This
unconformity separates the Nagari
Quartzite of the
Proterozoic from the
granite of the
Archean.
In 2001, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) declared the Eparchaean Unconfirmity to be one of the 26 "Geological Monuments of India".
Silathoranam, a natural arch and a distinctive geological feature, is located in the Tirumala Hills at a distance of from Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. The arch measures 8 metres in width and 3 metres in height and is eroded from quartzite of Cuddapah Supergroup of Middle to Upper Proterozoic (1600 to 570 Ma) by weathering agents like water and wind.
Flora and fauna
Sri Venkateswara National Park
is a
national park and biosphere reserve which is part of Seshachalam hills. The total area of the park is . The park is home to about 1,500 vascular plant species belonging to 174 families. Some of the rare and endemic plant species like red sanders,
Shorea talura,
Shorea thumburggaia,
Terminalia pallida,
sandalwood,
Syzygium alternifolium, and
Psilotum nudum occur in this region.
Cycas beddomei, a species of
cycad in the genus
Cycas, is found only in the
Tirumala Hills.
About 178 species of birds from this national park have been identified which includes the globally threatened yellow-throated bulbul, grey-fronted green pigeon, critically endangered Oriental white-backed vulture, large hawk-cuckoo, blue-faced malkoha, yellow-browed bulbul, Indian scimitar-babbler and Loten's sunbird. Among predators the leopard is quite common, along with the wild dog. Among reptiles, the most interesting species is the gliding lizard, found in some deep forested valleys. Another important reptile of this national park is the golden gecko.
Established in 1987, Tirupati Zoo or Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park
Sri Venkateswara Gosamrakshana shala is a home for cattle received as a donation (Godanam). It was established in 1956 by TTD and renamed to S.V. Gosamrakshana Shala in 2004. It is located at Chandragiri road, Tirupati. It is maintained by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams using the funds received through the Sri Venkateswara Gosamrakshana Shala Trust. Activities of the trust include providing a good environment, management, and feeding for the cattle. The milk and its products produced here are used by TTD for daily rituals at Sri Venkateswara Temple and other TTD temples.
Climate
Tirupati has a tropical savanna climate under the Köppen climate classification system, specifically
Aw (dry "winter"), closely bordering
As (dry "summer"). During the
dry season, which lasts from January to May, average minimum temperatures are between . The dry season is followed by the
rainy season, which lasts from June until the end of December. The city experiences heavy rainfall in November during the northeast monsoon season. The highest rainfall in 24 hours () was on 16 November 2015, during the 2015 South India floods. Cyclones commonly hit the Coast of
Nellore and bring heavy rain to the city.
Demographics
Census of India, the Tirupati city municipal corporation had a population of 287,035. The total population constitutes 145,977 males and 141,058 females — a sex ratio of 966 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. There were 24,643 children in the age group of 0–6 years. It had an effective literacy rate (7+ copulation) of 87.55%.
Telugu language is the official and the most commonly spoken language (87.98%). It is followed by Urdu (5.50%) and Tamil language (3.40%), Hindi (1.01%) which are spoken in small numbers.
Governance
Tirupati Assembly constituency is one of the 175 assembly constituencies of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, India. Tirupati is part of Tirupati (Lok Sabha constituency). Gurumurthy Maddela of YSR Congress Party is the sitting Member of Parliament for Tirupati (Lok Sabha constituency).
Under the administration of TTD, Tirupati And Tirumala has seen continued emphasis on improving pilgrimage infrastructure, including the implementation of welfare schemes aimed at supporting devotees visiting the Sri Venkateswara Temple.
Arani Srinivasulu of Janasena Party is the sitting Member of Legislative Assembly for Tirupati (Assembly constituency) and B. R. Sirisha Yadav of YSR Congress Party is the mayor for Tirupati Municipal Corporation.
Civic administration
Tirupati Municipal Corporation (TMC) oversees the administration of the city. Tirupati was constituted as a municipality on 1 April 1886; it was upgraded to a second grade municipality on 1 October 1962, to a first grade municipality on 12 December 1965, to special grade municipality on 13 February 1970, and to selection grade municipality on 7 October 1998. Tirupati Municipality was upgraded to a municipal corporation on 2 March 2007. The area of the municipal corporation at the time of formation was .
While, at present the area of the city is .
Tirupati has been ranked among the top ten cleanest cities in India as per Swachh Survekshan 2022 report.
Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) is the urban planning authority. It was constituted in the year 1981, with Tirupati town and 89 villages under its jurisdiction. In 2008, it included Srikalahasti, Puttur and 69 surrounding villages. At present TUDA covers an area of .
Law and order
Tirupati has the status of Urban Police District; it has 25 police stations.
100 Octopus (Organisation For Counter Terrorist Operations) commandos are deployed at Tirupati temple for its security. This was formed by Government of Andhra Pradesh in the year 2012. The elite commando force has been specially trained for in-house intervention, hostage rescue and in the Israeli combat technique
Krav Maga.
At Alipiri, a security zone was established to screen vehicles and pilgrims entering Tirumala, to safeguard the hills from terrorists and anti-social elements.
Utility services
Electricity to the city is distributed by Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL), headquartered at Tirupati.
The city mostly depends on
groundwater for its needs,
though it also gets water from
Telugu Ganga canal and Kalyani dam.
There are dams in the vicinity:
Kalyani Dam, Papavinasanam Dam, Gogurbham Dam, Pasupudara Dam, Kumaradara Dam, Akasa Ganga,
all in the Tirumala Hill ranges. Of these, Papavinasanam, Gogurbham, Pasupudara, kumaradara, and Akasa Ganga completely cater to the water needs of Tirumala and Venkateswara Temple while 49% of Kalyani Dam water is being supplied to Tirumala and remaining water is supplied to Tirupati.
Tirupati falls under the Tirupati Telecom District of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
The city ranked sixth in India among the 200 cities that competed during Swachh Survekshan – 2018 conducted by Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. According to the National Urban Sanitation Policy, the city was ranked 117th in the country in 2009–10, with a total of 39.363 points.
Healthcare
Tirupati is a medical hub with major hospitals situated in its vicinity. Many of these are either run under State government or run/funded by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
Sri Venkateswara Ramnarain Ruia Government General Hospital is one of the largest in the state of
Andhra Pradesh, and the main government hospital for the
Rayalaseema region. It was started in the year 1962 with a donation of Rs.5 lakhs from Sri Radha Krishna N. Ruia and 15 lakhs from TTD. At present it has 750 beds.
Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) is another major medical institute, founded in 1986.
Balaji Institute of Surgery, Research and Rehabilitation for the Disabled (BIRRD) has 250 beds; it was established in 1985 by TTD to treat patients with polio myelitis, cerebral palsy, congenital anomalies, spinal injuries, and orthopaedic impairments. A non-profit organisation, it is run with funds from Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams and donations from the public.
Economy
City economic overview
Tourism is the major industry in Tirupati.
The entire economy directly or indirectly depends on Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD). TTD is headquartered at Tirupati.
APIIC Industrial Park is located at Gajulamandyam, Renigunta. Industries like Sri Venkateswara Cooperative Sugar Factory Limited, AshwiniBio Pharma Ltd and others are situated in this park. Amara Raja factory is located at Karakambadi, Renigunta. Lanco cement factory is located at Eerpedu mandal. The majority of the city residents are employed under TTD. Zoho Corporation, an Indian software development company has an office in Renigunta and has been operating from this office since 2018.
IT/ITES and electronics industry
Sri Venkateswara Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing Hub is a dedicated mobile handset and electronics manufacturing facility located at Tirupati. The hub is spread over Acres out of which Celkon is established in acres, Micromax in acres, Karbonn in acres and Lava in acres with a total investment of Rupees 2000 crores.
Dixon Technologies has a manufacturing unit in this hub, where they are producing
for
Xiaomi.
Tourism sector
Tourism sector is of great importance to the city. It is because of the presence of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and a number of other temples in and around the city. It attracts large number of tourists which helps the tourism department of the state in generating revenue.
Tirumala is said to be one of the most visited religious sites on earth, and Tirupati Temple is currently a Guinness World Record holder for most visited temple in the world.
Culture
Festivals
The city celebrates all major Hindu festivals, including
Sankranti,
Ugadi, Krishna Janmashtami,
Maha Shivaratri,
Ganesh Chaturthi,
Deepavali,
Rama Navami, and
Kartik Poornima. Srivari Brahmotsavam is a nine-day event, celebrated during the months of September–October, when the temple of Tirumala witnesses lakhs of devotees.
During this festival, the processional deity
Malayappa swami of Venkateswara Temple, along with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi, is taken in a procession in four mada streets around the temple on different
. Tirupati also celebrates a carnival named as Tirupati Ganga Jatara, held during second week of May every year. This is a week long festival where Gangamma (
Gramadevata) is worshiped.
The tank behind Padmavathi Temple, Tiruchanur has Padma Pushkarini, where Chakra Snanam is undertaken on last day of the annual Padmavathi Brahmotsavams (Panchami Teertham). It witnesses lakhs of Devotees taking a dip in the holy waters.
Vaikunta Ekadasi, the day on which it is believed that Vaikunta Dwarams will be opened and the most important Vasihnavite festival, is celebrated in Tirumala and Tirupati with grandeur.
Sri Krishna janmastami, also known as Gokulashtami, is celebrated with great fervour at Tirupati. The Lotus Temple belonging to International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is illuminated with lamps and paintings displaying themes from Bhagavata Purana. The celebrations include offering prayers to Krishna, Utlotsavam, Annamacharya Kirtana alapana, Bhagavad Gita Parayanam among others. On this day 'Gokulashtami Asthanam' is held at Tirumala Venkateswara Temple. TTD also celebrates janmastami at Sri Venkateswara Gosamrakshana Shala where prayers are offered to cows, horses and elephants.
Cuisine
The city's
Tirupati Laddu is world famous among Hindu devotees around the world. It is the
at Venkateswara Temple, Tirumala. Tirupati Laddu was awarded the Geographical indication tag which entitles only Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams to make or sell it.
Arts, crafts and architecture
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams established Sri Venkateswara Museum, one at Tirumala and the other at Tirupati. It has a wonderful collection of Tirupati temple architecture and historical artefacts, such as ancient weaponry, pooja items and idols. It has a comprehensive photo gallery that gives a unique insight into Tirupati region's culture and traditions. It also boasts a meditation centre.
In 1988–89 Archaeological Survey of India had established an archaeological museum in the Chandragiri fort at
Chandragiri. It exhibits rich collection of stone and metal sculptures of Hindu gods and other cultural vestiges retrieved from other historical places like
Gudimallam,
Gandikota and
Yaganti. It also includes galleries for medieval weaponry of swords and daggers, coins and paper documents.
Cityscape
Temples
Tirumala Venkateswara Temple is the most notable temple for being the worlds richest
Vaishnavite temple of
Venkateswara.
Beside Venkateswara Temple, the city is known for many other ancient temples, such as Padmavathi Temple at
Tiruchanur, Govindaraja Temple,
Kapileswara Temple at
Kapila Theertham, Kalyana Venkateswara Temple, Srinivasamangapuram, Thathayyaguntta Gangamma Temple of goddess Gangamma is the
Gramadevata of Tirupati, Sri Kodandaramaswami Temple etc.
File:Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala in Chittoor district,Andhra Pradesh.jpg|Venkateswara Temple
File:Tirupathi (6337140675).jpg|Govindaraja Temple
File:Padmavathi Ammavari Temple.JPG|Padmavathi Temple
File:KodhandaRamarTemple.jpg|Kodandarama Temple
File:Kapila Theertham waterfalls Tirupati 2015 1.jpg|Kapila Theertham
Other landmarks
Besides historic temples, there are other tourist destinations in and around the city. Chandragiri Fort is a historical fort, built in the 11th century located in
Chandragiri. The fort hosts an Archaeological Museum maintained by Archaeological Survey of India.
Established in 1987, Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati is the largest
Zoo Park in Asia, which covers an area of 5532 acres.
Tirupati also hosts a Regional Science centre. A Space Exposition Hall, which has a digital Planetarium, the first of its kind in Andhra Pradesh, and an Innovation Space were added to this centre.
File:Chandragiri Fort - Raja Mahal (11).jpg|Chandragiri Fort
File:Regional science centre Tpty.jpg|Regional Science Centre, Tirupati
Neighbourhoods
Tiruchanur,
Alipiri,
Chandragiri and
Renigunta are the notable neighbourhoods of the city.
Transport
Roadways
The city is well connected to major cities through national and
state highways. National highways passing through Tirupati are National Highway 71 (which connects
Madanapalle and
Kadiri), and National Highway 140 connecting Tirupati with
Puthalapattu. Within Tirupati Urban Development Authority Limits, there are two additional national highways, namely, NH 716 and NH 565. NH 716 connects Renigunta part of Tirupati to Chennai and Muddanur (via Kadapa and Rajampet). NH 565 on the other hand connects NH 71 to NH 65 - it starts from Yerpedu area of Tirupati and ends at Nakrekal in Nalgonda district.
There are two all-weather, Road surface ghat roads between Tirupati and Tirumala, one constructed in 1944 and the other in 1974.
Public transport
APSRTC is the state owned transport service, which operates buses to various destinations from Tirupati bus station complex. The bus station comprises three mini bus stations to various destinations, such as Srinivasa bus station for west-bound destinations, Sri Hari bus station for east bound destinations and Yedukondalu bus station is utilised for bus services to
Tirumala.
Balaji Link bus station at
Alipiri is also used for bus services to Tirumala.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams runs free buses from the railway station and central bus stand to Alipiri for pilgrims. The buses to Tirumala are known as Sapthagiri Express.
Tirupati is in close proximity with the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Hence, direct buses from Tirumala to Chennai, Bengaluru, Jayanagar, Bangalore, Vellore, Kanchipuram are run by APSRTC Sapthagiri Express. KSRTC, TNSTC and SETC also operates their services to Lower Tirupati. There are also private transport which operate in the city.
Tirumala foot steps
There are two footpaths from Tirupati to
Tirumala. These paths are called
Sopanamargas and are mostly used by pilgrims. The first (and older) path starts from
Alipiri and has 3550 steps, totalling . At Alipiri there is a temple dedicated to Venkateswara called Padalamandapam. There are four
(temple towers) along the way. The other path, called
Sri Vari Mettu starts from Srinivasa Mangapuram and is long. Both paths are completely roofed and pass through seven hills (part of Seshachalam Hills).
Railways
Tirupati has 6 railway stations. is classified as an
A1 station in the Guntakal railway division of South Central Railway zone.
and are the satellite stations, used for decongesting rail traffic at the main station. In addition to these, Tirupati also has Chandragiri, Yerpedu and Renigunta Junction railway stations to serve the needs of the people of the city.
Airways
Tirupati Airport is located from the city centre and has daily flights to
Coimbatore,
Kolkata,
Mumbai,
New Delhi,
Bangalore,
Kolhapur,
Pune,
Tiruchirapalli,
Madurai,
Shirdi,
Rajahmundry,
Kalaburagi,
Hubli,
Vijayawada,
Visakhapatnam and
Hyderabad. The closest international airport is Chennai International Airport which is from Tirupati. Tirupati Airport is being upgraded to an international airport. The new terminal was inaugurated on 22 October 2015.
Education
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools of the School Education Department of the state.
Majority of them are named after presiding deity of Tirupati temple,
Venkateswara and his consort goddess
Alamelu.
There are several universities and colleges including state government and Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam sponsored such as, Sri Venkateswara University, established in 1954; Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, a dedicated women's university; Medical colleges include Sri Venkateswara Medical College and Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women.
The city has Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) and IIT Tirupati which were allotted by Government of India to the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Research
-
The National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) is an autonomous research institute funded by the Department of Space of the Government of India. NARL is engaged in fundamental and applied research in the field of atmospheric sciences. It is around from Tirupati.
-
Sri Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati is selected for establishment of Multidisciplinary Research Units (MRUs) and Model Rural Health Research Units (MRHRU) by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
-
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupati. It has been established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in order to promote Higher Scientific Learning and Research as well as Scientific Exploration at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels of education and to create Scientists and Academics. IISER Tirupati is recognised as an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India. This new institute started functioning from the 2015 academic year in the month of August.
-
Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati. IIT Tirupati offers a 4-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) along with 2-years Master of Science (M.Sc.) Master of Science (M.S.), Master of Technology (M.Tech. - started in 2018), Master of Public Policy (MPP) & Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programmes in several engineering, science and humanities fields .
-
Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), Tirupati is selected for establishment of college level Viral Diagnostic Research Labs.
-
A sub-centre for All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on the groundnut (peanut) is established at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Tirupati to conduct research activities on new high. The research will help to meet the needs of the country's 100 arid districts which receive less than rainfall. RARS has so far developed 12 groundnut varieties.
-
A research centre for indigenous cows was established by TTD at its dairy farm named Sri Venkateswara Gosamrakshanashala. The purpose of the centre is to protect the cows and also to share the rare breeds among similar organisations. The Gosamrakshanashala already had distinctive high-worth breeds like Ongole, while it is also trying to gather Sahiwal breed of cows from Punjab, Gir cows of Gujarat to the centre, Tharparker and Kankrej cows from Karnataka.
Media
SVBC TV, the first 24-hour Telugu devotional TV channel dedicated to broadcast Hindu devotional programmes is telecast from Tirupati.
Started in 1949, Sapthagiri is a spiritual monthly magazine based at Tirupati and published in Telugu language, Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Tamil language and Kannada languages.
Telugu newspapers Andhra Bhoomi, Saakshi, Eenadu, Vaartha, Andhra Jyothi, and Andhra Prabha; and English newspapers Deccan Chronicle, The Hindu, Indian Express, Times of India, and The Hans India are available in the city. The Hindu, Sakshi, Andhra Jyothi, Eenadu and other dailies have their printing and publication offices set up here.
Tirupati has All India Radio station and is served by FM stations 92.7 Big FM, 93.5 Red FM, and E-FM 104.
See also
-
Tirupati district
-
List of municipal corporations in Andhra Pradesh
-
List of urban agglomerations in Andhra Pradesh
-
List of Hindu temples in Tirupati
-
Pullaiahgaripalli
-
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams
-
Tirupati Urban Development Authority
-
Tirupati Municipal Corporation
-
Tirupati Ganga Jatara
External links
