"Balaji" as a name

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"BALAJI" as a name to be given to children

 

Sometime ago, Sri Sundararajan wrote as follows:

" Many thanks for this posting. I had acquired a Tamil

booklet on the names to give Muslim children, and I have recently come

by one on the names for Christian children.

 

I'd love to compile one of my own, though 'bAlAji' (supposedly

signifying tiru-vEnkaTam-uDaiyAn) would not be in my compilation.

No body could succeed in establishing that tiru-vEnkaTam-uDaiyAn is

NOT perumAL, but the puerile and unscholarly snipings continue, despite

the numerous evidences (inter alia of SilappadhikAram, the Tamil post-

sangham classic, from a non-vaishNava author) affirming the Lord only as

vishNu. The next thing to do, when you are not succeeding, is to

obscure or confuse the issue. 'bAlAji' as a name is the very absurd

gimmick on this issue. Not a single classical author has taken note of

this 'name' and it is evident that it is not worth researching on its

origin."

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Iagree with Sri Sundararajan. During my recent trip to India, a

gentleman

was explaining how this name came into vogue. he said that Tiruvenkata

mudaiyan was never known as Balaji, say for over half century ago.

It wsa after the influx of North Indians to Tirupati, when they found

the

efficacy of offering to the Lord hairs by tonsure that they coined the

name

Balaji by combining Baal+Laoji=Balaji,as if the Lord was demanding

bringing

in hairs as an offering in return for favors granted !

 

This is only an observation (sans comments) for information of those who

may be inclined to examine whether it is after all a mere guess!

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

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