With various temples in multiple cities, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada went to Tirupati-Tirumala as a special guest of the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1974-75. It was during this visit that he was extremely touched after the Darshan of Lord Sri Venkateswara, and the large following that the Lord had here. He then suggested the idea of reviving and spreading the ideals of the Bhagavad-Gita through an ISKCON temple in Tirupati.
It is the well known Hindu tradition that soon after marriage the couple would stay in the house of the bride for few days, probably, to get acquaintance with the family of in laws to the groom. This is with a view that the couple would carry the feeling of one-family and they would respect and regard the in laws and their relations as their own relations, in order to strengthen the unity among both side families.
Accordingly Lord Venkateswara also stayed at Mangapuram, the mother’s home of bride Padmavathi for few days. Because of His stay the village came to be called as Srinivasa Mangapuram. Thereafter the couple shifted and settled in Tirupathi at Tirumala hills. Since He stayed after wedding He is called Kalyana (married) Venkateshwaraswami meaning thereby Venkateshwara after wedding (Kalyana) stayed here in His Mother-in-law’s home.
There is a small temple in this small village built in memory of His stay here. The idol of Lord Venkateswara in this temple is taller than the on
This is a unique temple in this holy town because this is the only temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in more than a 50-mile radius of the holy temple cities of Tirupati and Tirumala.This is a huge temple that is located at the front of a mountain cave at the foot of the Tirumala hills. The entrance of the temple has a huge stone statue of a seated bull Nandi (Lord's Shiva's steed).
The Kapileshwar Linga is located near a holy waterfall in Kapila Theertham.
Saint Kapila Maharshi, a Hindu Saint, is believed to have lived and worshipped here in the cave before the idol of Lord Shiva. This gave the name of the shrine, Kapila Theertham.
Sri Govindarajaswami Temple is an ancient temple and a very important shrine in the land. Idols of Lord Parthasarathy and Lord Govindaraja are found here. It is said that Saint Ramanujacharya laid foundation to the temple in 1130 AD. The temple premises houses few other shrines as well. Sri Govindarajaswami is Lord Balaji’s elder brother. Hence, the functions and festivals conducted here strike similarity to the ones conducted at Lord Balaji’s temple.
Sri Padmavathi Ammavari Temple is one of the most important temples in Tirupati. Located at a distance of only 5 km from Tirupati, this temple in Tiruchanoor is also known with the name of Alamelu mangapuram Temple or Alamelumangapuram, which denotes the legend associated with Goddess Padmavathi as she is believed to have come on a Golden colour Lotus flower, hence the name denoting - Alar-Lotus, Mel- Top, Manga-Goddess and Puram- village/town.
