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" Srimathe Ramanujaya Namaha !"
57. Q .: SWAMY PLEASE EXPLAIN THE COMPLETE STORY OF HATHIRAM BAVAJI
Ans .: Innumerable sadhus hailing from North India undertake pilgrimage to the South while those from South India undertake pilgrimage to the North. While on such pilgrimages some of these sadhus choose to stay back in some place of their interest. Hathiram Baba was one such sadhu who chose to stay back in Tirumala during his pilgrimage to the South. He called himself 'Hathi' (elephant) as he was very fat. No one knew his real name. In every age Mahatmas have, on the one hand, enjoyed the support of the people while on the other hand faced strong opposition from them.
One such incident of strong opposition took place even in the life of Hathiram Baba. Once, some people who had taken a strong dislike to Hathiram Baba wanted to embarrass him. So they locked him up in a room with ten kilos of cooked rice and ten bundles of sugarcane and challenged him, "If you really are an elephant you must eat every bit of this food by daybreak". Within five minutes of being locked up Hathiram Baba, having consumed the ten kilos of rice and the ten bundles of sugarcane, kicked the locked doors to pieces and stepped out trumpeting like an elephant. Those who were on guard and those who stood there to watch the fun fled from the scene. It is this Hathiram Baba who built a part of the famous Srinivasa temple in Tirumala.
In those days, Hathiram Baba used to sit at the entrance to this Temple. Those who came here had to first place their offerings at his feet; only then were they permitted to step in to have darshan of Lord Balaji. This is how the tradition of dropping the offerings in the 'Hundi' began.
Whenever Hathiram Baba felt bored he would play 'chokkattan' (Indian ludo) with 'Tirupathi Perumal'. Even to-day one can find these scenes depicted on the doors of the temple. Baba's mutt is situated opposite to the Temple. There he is seated in 'jiva samadhi' blessing all the devotees.
After showing to the world his proximity with Hathiram baba,the Lord, gave a boon that Baba's mutt shall be at an elevated location compared to the Lord's sanctum sanctorum and so it is today. Hathiram Baba's mutt is just above the "oonjal mantapam" where everyday SahasraDeepalankara Seva is celebrated. Also one can visit the Hathiram baba's samAdhi enroute to the various theerthAs in tirumalai. St. AnnamAchArya has also sung of Hathiram Baba.
The Pallavas of Kanchipuram (9th century AD), Cholas of Tanjore (10 century) , Pandyas of mathura and Vijayanagara pradhans (14th & 15th centuries) were committed devotees of Lord Venkateswara. The statues of Sri Krishna Devaraya and his spouse stand in the premises of the temple. After the decline of Vijayanagara Empire, kings from various states like the king of Mysore and Gadwal, worshiped the lord as pilgrims and gifted various ornaments and valuables to the temple. Raghoji Bhonsle, the Maharastrian commander visited the temple and made a permanent arrangement regarding the regular pujas to be done to the Lord. Later the administrative authority of Venkateswara Temple along with the temples in the village lied with the head of Hathiram Ji mutt in Tirumala. Till 1933 the administration of the temple had been wielded by the head of that monastery, Hathiram Mahantha. In 1933 the Madras government appointed a Commission to Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam through a special statutory authority to run the administration of the temple.
Jai Srimannaryana !
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