Lord Venkateshwar Part 2

[Guest guest]

Lakshmi sold Brahma and Shiva to the King. Everyday when the cows

were taken to the fields of Seshacalam for grazing, the cow would seperate

from the herd and go to the ant hill inside which the Lord was resting. She

would pour all her milk into the hole and return to the herd.

Because the cow was very attractive, the queen desired to feed her

own children with milk from that cow. But whenever the cow returned from the

fields, there would not be any milk. Everyone was surprised, and the cowherd

man was ordered to keep a close eye on the cow.

The next day as the cowherd man was following the cow, he saw her go

to the anthill and empty her milk bags into it. To investigate this, the

cowherd man took his axe and cut open the anthill. The axe hit Vishnu on the

head and the Lord was severly wounded. The Lord cursed the cowherd man to

become a ghost, but feeling compassionate, He also gave a boon to him. He

said, "You are the first person to have my darshan after such a long time,

therefore in My temple, your generation will always have My darshan first.

According to this, even today at the opening of the the Sri Venkateshwar

temple, a person belonging to the cowherd's generation receives the first

darshan. Only then are the rest of the temple programs carried out.

 

The Lord went searching for some herbs to heal His wound. Wandering

in the hills of Seshadri, He came across a temple of Varahadev. This temple

was established after the pastime of Varahadev lifting the earth from the

Garbha ocean. The devas requested Varaha dev to establish Himself on the

earth as a permanent protector of earth. Since that time He resided a temple

in the Seshadri forest.

The chief of Varahadevs pujari-servants was Vakuladevi. In the

preceeding Dwarapa-yuga, Vakuladevi was Mother Yashoda. Throughout Krsna's

life, Mother Yashoda had one unfulfilled wish - to see her Son be married.

Although Krsna married thousands of princesses, Yashoda had nevered

witnessed any of the marraige ceremonies. To satsify her desire, Krsna told

her, "In Kaliyuga I shall be born as Venkateshwar. You will be born as

Vakuladevi and worship Varahadev. I shall meet you in Seshadri. Then I shall

fulfill your desire."

 

(to be continued)