Thirumala Venkateswara Temple: From Buddhism to Hinduism

The world famous Lord Venkateswara Temple is located in Tirumala which is very close to the town of Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh).  The Thirumala temple is one of the most visited places on earth.  It is estimated that somewhere between 50,000 to 75,000 pilgrims and tourists visit this temple every day.  Today the presiding deity of this temple is Lord Venkateswara.

Lord Venkateswara is also known as Venkatachalapathi.  Venkatachalapathi according to Hindu legends is an avatar of Lord Vishnu.  The followers of Lord Vishnu are known as Vaishnavites and this temple therefore is a Vaishnava temple (Vaishnavism is one of the main groups within “Hinduism” today.  The other major group is Shaivism (followers of Lord Shiva).  Of course there are hundreds of other groups and subgroups within each group which is why most people consider Hinduism to be a philosophy and not a “religion” in the traditional sense).Till date no one has been able to accurately date when the current temple structure was built.  Most of the scriptures in the temple complex are in Tamil (the language spoken by the native people of Tirumala and Tirupati today is Telugu.  Telugu is a Dravidian language which originated from Tamil).  Most of the existing structures are believed to have been built during the 10 century by the Chola kings who were mostly Vaishnavites.

But was Thirumala a place of worship for other faiths before it became the abode of Lord Venkateswara?  History is always written by the winners.  This is particularly true of the history of South India and to an extent that of India.   Most historians agree that people in South India (including parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat) up until the 9^th and 10^th centuries for the most part were Buddhists and Jains.
Shaivism and Vaishnavism were unknown to most South Indians until Chola kings of the 10^th century (who were mostly Vaishnavites) started to spread their religion.  Many Buddhist and Jain places of worship were converted over period of time to places of worship for the Vaishnava gods like Lord Venkateswara.  Although very few South Indians consider themselves to be Buddhist and Jains today the traditions of these great religions are deeply engrained in the South Indian culture and also preserved in the places of worship.  This conversion of Buddhists and Jains of South India to the Shaiva and Vaishnava religions is rarely taught in Indian history classes.
One of the Buddhist traditions that is still practiced in the Thirumala temple is the shaving of the head by the devotees.  Buddhism allows men, woman and children to shave their heads as part of the initiation ceremony.  It is an important first step in a person’s journey towards enlightenment.  Vaishnavism prohibits shaving of head except in the case of death of a close family member.  Women are allowed to shave their head only if the husband dies.  Vaishnava priests (modern day Brahmins) never shave their head completely.
Under Vaishnava rule the Brahmins had a different set of punishment compared to others for the same crime.  The toughest punishment meted out to a Brahmin in most cases was shaving their head completely.  In those days it meant that the person was excommunicated.  The worship of Lord Vishnu is clearly mentioned in a Sanskrit text known as Shodas Upachar.  This text describes 16 ways in which a devotee can worship the image of Vishnu.  Shaving of the head (tonsure) also known as the Mundana ceremony is not one of them.
Clearly tonsure is associated with sorrow and mourning in Vaishnavism and with celebration and initiation among Buddhists.  So why is tonsure of men, women and children allowed in many South Indian places of worship including Tirumala temple?  It is also interesting to note that even today anyone who is a “Hindu” can perform Abhiseka to the Lord or perform Archana directly irrespective of the persons caste or sex.  This practice is absolutely rare in Vaishnava temples or for that matter other Hindu temples.  The local tribes known as Chenchus not only perform Archana and Abhiseka but also take part is almost all important temple festivities.  The week caste and sex barriers are signs of Buddhist and Jain influence.
The Sangam period was one of the greatest periods in Indian literature.  This collection contains over 2300 poems by over 473 poets.  The period spanned over 900 years starting from 600 BCE to 300 CE.  These poems and other texts were written in Tamil and the subjects covered were largely secular in nature which is not surprising since most of this literature was written by Buddhist and Jain monks.  NOTE: The word “Sangam” is from Sanskrit and is never mentioned in a single text from that period.  The actual word used is “Sangha” which is a Buddhist and Jain term for “assembly of monks”.
The works from the Sangha period (particularly Silappatikaram written by the Jain monk Ilango Adigal) talk about the Tirumala temple but many Sanskrit texts particularly the Vishnu Purana do not mention anything about the shrine (obviously the temple is not mentioned in Mahabharata or the Ramayana).  Ilango Adigal claims he visited the temple.  But why is the Vishnu Purana silent on one of the most important Vishnu temples in India?
The statue of Lord Venkateswara in Tirumala is a standing posture with the Lord having two hands.  Traditionally the statue of Vishnu is shown lying down.  Vishnu is almost always depicted with four hands (there are exceptions to these rules).  Lord Venkateswara is also depicted with Mudra in both his hands.  This is very common in Buddhist imagery but is rare among Vaishnavites.  The Mudras are difficult to make out since Lord Venkateswara today is always shown decked in flowers and jewelry.  But if you carefully view the images, you can see on the left hand the classic Buddhist Varada Mudra (it is the left hand holding the traditional Buddhist robe called the Sanghati).
It is also important to note that in the original layout Lord Venkateswara did not have any weapons.  This is more in sync with Buddhist and Jain techniques.  The weapon (very important for Vishnu iconography) was supposedly placed on his hand by Ramanuja (Vaishnavite philosopher).