JOIN USCountry's richest deity deprived of sleep
With continuous inflow of pilgrims seeking divine blessings, Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala is forced to go without a wink of sleep.
Over the years, the number of pilgrims to the hill shrine has increased considerably, forcing the temple authorities to keep the doors open throughout the day to accommodate as many devotees as possible. As a result, Lord Balaji can manage only 10 minutes of rest in a day!
Considering the objections raised by some pundits over the lord being starved of his sleep, temple authorities have now decided to strictly follow the norms of “Agama Shastra” (temple traditions) and close the sanctum sanctorum for nearly 90 minutes every day to ensure unhindered celestial sleep for the lord.
The temple doors will now be closed from 1.30 am to 3 am. At present, the devotees are allowed inside the temple till 2.40 am after which“Ekanta Seva”, the last ritual of the day, is performed. Again, at 3 am, the Lord is up and awake with priests performing “Suprabhata Seva”.
‘Lord needs rest’
“We have issued orders to strictly follow the guidelines as per the Agama Shastra. The main door will be closed at 1.30 am to give proper rest to the Lord,” said an official of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the autonomous body which manages the affairs of the hill shrine.
“In the earlier times, the temple used to be closed for public during the night. However, over years, this practice has been given a go-by because of the steady increase in the flow of pilgrims. We want to restore the traditions,” the official said.
On an average, over 60,000 pilgrims visit the temple. Numbers cross the one lakh mark on festivals and special occasions. With annual revenues crossing Rs 1,700 crore, Tirumala is considered the richest temple in the country.