Tirupati,one of the richest  temples in the country, is the most venerated
Vaishnavite shrine of Lord Venkateswara. It was patronised by the Pallavas,
the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Vijayanagar kings. 130 kms from the city of Madras(Chennai),this temple is located in the southern Chittoor district of
Andhra Pradesh. Tiru' in Tamil means `Sri'. Hence Tirupati  translates to
Sripati or Sri Maha Vishnu.

According to the Puranas, the range of  Tirumala hills represent the body of the serpent Adisesha on which Lord Vishnu,the protector of the world, rests. The seven hills represent the seven heads of the serpent. Perched on the  860 m  high peak of the Tirumala  hills,the temple is a Dravidian masterpiece.The splendid Viman or Ananda Nilayam rising protectively over the sanctum is the most arresting  feature in the  temple complex. It is plated with gold, as is the Dwajasthambam, or the temple flagpost. The innermost enclosure of three prakarams,opened once annually, enshrines the two metre high majestic black idol of Lord Venkatesw -ar, bedecked  with priceless glittering  jewels, most  striking  of  which  is  the diamond crown said  that   to  be  costliest  in   the   world.  Some people believe  idol   of Sri  Venkateswara has the attributes of Vishnu and Shiva,the preserving and the destroying aspects of  the  Hindu Trinity.  This  conception is a  happy compromise appealing at  once to the Vaishnav-ites and Shaivites. The idol has four arms, two  in  the  rear, one carrying the Shankha or the conch, and the other the Chakra or the discus, and two  in the front, one in the Abhaya pose  and  the  other  resting  on the hip. On both  the front arms, the Bhujanga Valaya, or the girdle of the serpent, an emblem of Shiva can be seen.People from the Northern parts of India, worship Lord Venkateswara, as Balaji . It is  praised by poets as `Bhuloka Vaikuntha'.

The two very important   customs followed in the temple are  anointing the
body of the Lord  with camphor  (Karpoora), saffron and musk, and offering
the tonsure of hair as a  sacrifice to the Lord. The   Varahaswami temple,
situated near the Venkateswara temple, on the banks of  Swami  Pushkarani tank, is said  to be even  more ancient. This  shrine is dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the form of Varahaswami.  It is said that the Adi Sesha  himself forms the seven hills on which the temple of the Lord is located.