Seven Hills of Tirumala

 

The seven hills situatedaround Tirumala are Vrushabhadri, Anjanadri, Vrushadri, Garudadri, Seshadri,Narayanadri, and Venkatadri.

VRUSHABHADRI - Once, there lived an Asura called Vrushabasura who lived near Thumburutheertham in Tirumala. He used to do great penance with full austerity. Lord Siva, in due course, appeared before him and directed him to ask for any boon. Asura, with his demonic thoughts, wanted that he would like to fight with Lord Siva Himself.Siva obliged him. Therewas a fierce battle and the Asura was defeated. However, he requested Lord Siva to name that place after him. Lord Siva blessed him accordingly and that is why that hill has come to be known as 'Vrushabhadri'.

ANJANADRI - Kesari, chieftain of Vanaras and his wife is Anjana Devi. For a long time, they were not blessed with any child. Anjana Devi, then went to a sacred place near Akasa Ganga in Tirumala and performed penance.VayuBhagavan, the Wind God, appearedbefore her and presented her with fruit. Consuming that, Kesari and Anjana Devi were blessed with a son. That son is the famous Hanuman. He is also known as Anjaneya, the son of Anjana Devi. The place where Anjana Devi did penance came to be known as 'Anjanadri.

 

VRUSHADRI - VRUSHA means Dharma (Righteousness). It is told that Dharma Devata did penancehere in Tirumala to attain eternal prosperity. Lord Venkateswara was pleased with his penance and granted his wish. The place where DharmaDevata did penance,has come to be known as 'Vrushadri'. It is also referred ad Dharmadri in some places.

 

GARUDADRI - GARUDA is the son of VinataDevi and Sage Kasyapa. He is the Vahana- the divine vehicle of the Lord Vishnu. Kadru is anotherwife of Kasyapa. She had serpents (snakes) as her children. There was great enmity between Garuda and Serpents. Garudaused to kill serpents at his will. Because of this, he incurred a lot of sin. To wash off the sins, Garuda did penance. When the Lord appeared before him, Garuda entreated him to take him back to Sri Vaikuntam. However, the Lord told him that He would be residing in Tirumala- surrounded by Seven Hills and that he could come there for any service.The Lord named the place where Garuda did penance 'Garudadri'. It is also known as Garudachalam.

SESHADRI - There are a few different stories for the place to be known as Seshadri. Sesha means Adisesha, the first and foremost faithful servant of the Lord. He acts as the umbrella to protect from Rain and Sun-beams, the seat where the Lord sits, the Bed when He reclines, the Sacred Sandal (Paduka) when he walks, and so on. It is told that there was a bitter contestbetween Adisesha and Vayu, the first one protecting the peak of Meru with His hood, while the latter trying to blow off the peak. The contest was going on for a long time. As other gods requested Adiseshato relent accordingly Adiseshastopped the fight. But the Wind god blew away the peak which fell near the banks of Swarnamuki river. When Adisesha was dejected by the act of Vayu, the Gods consoled him and named the hill formed outof Meru peak 'Seshadri', after him. It is also called Seshachalam.

NARAYANADRI - Narayana maharishi wanted to performpenance in praise of Lord Vishnu. So he approached Brahma to show him a place where he could do penance without any outside disturbance. Brahma accordingly showed a place near Tirumala. The Maharishi performedthe penance and the Lord appeared before him and blessed him. The Lord also informed us that the place will be called 'Narayanadri'.

VENKATADRI - This is the central place where the temple of Lord Sri Venkateswara is situated. The Lord chose this place as his permanent residenceto bless all the devoteeswho come to him for any wishes.Venkata means thatone wipes out all sins and blesses with riches. When the sins are wipedout, you duly get Moksha or Salvation in due course.