The Heaven on Earth - Ananda Nilayam

Tirumala, 18 Sep. 19: Ananda Nilayam, is being described as the "Abode of Happiness" and the Resident is the most charming Lord Venkateswara who attracts tens of thousands of devotees every day with His bewitched divine beauty.

VIMANA VENKATESWARA

As the Lord resides in Ananda Nilayam, His devotees fondly call him as Vimana Venkateswara who stays in the three-tired canopy.

The first mention of Vimana is from the renovation work of the temple between the 12th and 13th century AD by the Pandyan King, Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan who gold-plated the roof and donated the gilded Kalasam. 

Later Viranarasingaraya, a Pallava-allied king performed Thulabharam (weighing oneself) against gold; his weight in gold was used to make the gold-plated copper sheets to cover the Vimana. This phase of construction is usually agreed as the fourth phase of Tirumala temple construction out of seven.

1950s Renovation

In the 1950s, TTD decided to replace the aging metal and fix the roof. 

All the gold was removed and the damaged levels of the roof below. 

It took five years for the carpenters and builders to replace the long nails of the 10th century AD with solid cement and metal grouting using 20th-century construction techniques. The copper plates were then installed and fixed in place. Fine "Aparanji" (the best quality) gold was chiselled into plates and riveted onto the copper plates.

ASTABANDHANA BALALAYA MAHA SAMPROKSHANAM IN 1964

A grand ceremony of sanctifying the new grand, golden Ananda Nilaya Vimanam took place in 1964 with "Ashta Bandhana Maha Samprokshanam". The ceremony has been repeated ever since once every 12 years to undertake repairs in the temple.

64 DEITIES ENGRAVED

It is believed that there are 64 deities of Hindu religion including Hayagreeva, Yoganarasimha, and Lakshmi Devi, etc. who are engraved on the Vimana Gopuram.