[Advaita-l] Is Tirupati's Balaji a Buddhist deity (Avalokiteshwara)?

[V Subrahmanian]

TTD publication - History of Tirupati - Abridged  Mohana Krishnan - 2005
p.6:

//When faced with the spread of Buddhism and Jainism, they were faced with
the necessity of postulating a God and a religion that was neither rank
Saivism nor rank Vaishnavism. Tiruvengadamudaiyar was the only true God*
who combines in him all the Murthis* rather the Paravasudeva of the
Pancharatras or the Adi murti of the Vaikhanasas.//

p.7:

//Tirumala as a proper tample took shape during the early years of the 10
Century AD. Popularity is mainly because, *here worship by Saivites and
Vaishnavites both with faith and bhakti went on* when during the same
period there lots of hatred between Saivism and Vishnavism.......people
thronged to pray in this temple treating the lord* as Ishta Devatha *and
asking for whatever each wanted which would be granted by the Deity. People
made pilgrimages to Tirupati to fulfill their vows.//


Srinivasaiyengar in his 'Tami studies' on p.302 says:

//It would be interesting to note here that the god on the Tirupati Hills
(Tiruvengadam) had the appearance of both Siva and Vishnu during the days
of Peyalwar.//


http://www.thehindu.com/2001/05/20/stories/1320017s.htm


// There are differences of opinion whether the deity at Tirumala is
Vishnu, Siva, Sakti or Skanda. Suffice it to say that the various forms,
according to Hinduism, point to the Supreme Brahman and hence it is
pointless to extend this debate as each devotee beholds his Ishtadevata in
the idol and worships the deity as the Kaliyuga Varada who answers the
prayers of all devotees.//

regards
subbu



On Sun, Feb 25, 2018 at 7:43 PM, D.V.N.Sarma డి.వి.ఎన్.శర్మ via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> For Hindus while shaving the head, leaving a sikha or tuft is the norm. In
> Tirupati devotees  completely shave their heads as an offering.
> This is intriguing.
>
> The abhisheka in Tirupati is performed on Friday which is considered as a
> practice associated with Devi.
>
> One of the Vaishnava alwars has described Venkateswara as carrying weapons
> trishula and chakra.(Tai shadum neer mudiyum).
>
> Idols displaying varada hasta without displaying abhaya hasta are rare.
> (The traditionalist give an interesting explanation that the deity is
> showing
> his feet as the ultimate refuge to the devotee )
>
> regards,
> Sarma.
>
> On Sun, Feb 25, 2018 at 7:01 PM, Shashi via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> > All old arguments repeated ad nauseum, stemming from the premise that
> > Brahmins were usurpers of everything good in Buddhism.
> >
> > Brief response:
> >
> > (1) There are eka devata temples throughout India for deities across the
> > Hindu spectrum of gods
> >
> > (2) Pancaratrika Vaishnavas, who until Ramanuja were not recognized as
> > orthodox Brahmins, always considered Tirupati to be Vishnu, even while
> > Indian Buddhism was well and alive,
> >
> > (3) the Tamil silappattikaram, written in around the 1 st century ad,
> when
> > Buddhism was st its height in Tamil Nadu, refers to Ranganathaswami as
> Lord
> > Vishnu, while no Buddhist texts refer to it as a Buddhist shrine.
> >
> > (4) The deity at Tirupati is clearly male with a male anatomy
> >
> > At the end of the day, I will take the word of Tyagaraja or Purandara
> Dasa
> > over anyone. Everything is about exposing a conspiracy now, even when
> there
> > is no such thing. In the words of the old Christian gospel song,
> "whatever
> > happened to that old time religion?" Without shraddha, nothing is
> possible.
> >
> > Om namo narayanaya.
> > Sita ramachandra parabrahmane namah
> >
> > Sent from my iPhone
> >
> > > On Feb 25, 2018, at 4:57 AM, Aditya Kumar via Advaita-l <
> > advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > I had earlier posted a query regarding the difference between
> > Ranganathaswamy and Padmanabhaswamy. Seems like everything falls into
> place
> > now. Tirumala's Balaji is not Vishnu, it is the Buddhist deity
> > Avalokiteshwara or Padmapani. Similarly, Ranganathaswamy is a spitting
> > image of 'reclining Buddha' whereas the Vedic deity Narayana is
> > Padmanabhaswamy.
> > > Link to article : http://creative.sulekha.com/dr-k-jamanadas-proves-
> > tirupati-temple-as-a-buddhist-shrine_295854_blog
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > > http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> > >
> > > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > > http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> > >
> > > For assistance, contact:
> > > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> > _______________________________________________
> > Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> > http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
> >
> > To unsubscribe or change your options:
> > http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
> > For assistance, contact:
> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Archives: http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/
> http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.culture.religion.advaita
>
> To unsubscribe or change your options:
> http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
>
> For assistance, contact:
> listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
>