96-474: Traditional Venkateswara ( Telugu : వేంకటేశ్వరుడు , Sanskrit : वेङ्कटेश्वरः , IAST : Venkaṭeśvara ), also known as Venkatachalapati , Balaji and Srinivasa , is a Hindu deity, described as a form or avatar of the god Vishnu . He is the presiding deity of Venkateswara Temple , Tirupati . His consorts, Padmavathi and Bhudevi , are avatars of the goddess Lakshmi , the consort of Vishnu. Venkateswara literally means "Lord of Venkata ". The word
192-506: A command over the Telugu language, alongside Sanskrit , Tamil , Meitei , Oriya , Persian , or Arabic , is highly appreciated and respected for learning dances (most significantly Indian Classical Dances ) as dancers could have the tools of these languages to go into the primary material texts. Telugu is natively spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Yanam district of Puducherry . Telugu speakers are also found in
288-444: A comment that it was a "strange notion" since the predecessors of Appa Kavi had no knowledge of such a derivation. George Abraham Grierson and other linguists doubt this derivation, holding rather that Telugu was the older term and Trilinga must be the later Sanskritisation of it. If so the derivation itself must have been quite ancient because Triglyphum , Trilingum and Modogalingam are attested in ancient Greek sources,
384-415: A dwarf, with complexion of lotus leaves and a big belly. He is described as having three legs, only eight teeth, one eye, and being adorned with jewels. He is sometimes described riding a man. The description of deformities like the broken teeth, three legs, three heads and four arms appear only in the later Puranic texts. Kubera holds a mace, a pomegranate, or a money bag in his hand. He may also carry
480-403: A female yaksha, Kauberi ("wife of Kubera") and Charvi ("splendour"). They had three sons: Nalakubara ("Reed-axle"), Manigriva ("Bejewled-neck") or Varna-kavi ("Colourful poet"), and Mayuraja ("king of animals resembling men"); and a daughter called Minakshi ("fish-eyed"). As the treasurer of the riches of the world, Kubera is prescribed to be worshipped. Kubera is also credited money to
576-451: A god, and suggest offerings of meat, sesame seeds and flowers to him. The Purana s and the epics Mahabharata and Ramayana grant Kubera unquestioned godhood. Kubera also acquired the status of the "Lord of riches" and the wealthiest Deva. He also becomes a lokapala ("world protector") and guardian ( dikapala ) of the North direction , although he is also sometimes associated with
672-482: A grove called Caitraratha , where the leaves were jewels and the fruits were girls of heaven. There is also a charming lake called Nalini in the grove. Kubera is often described as a friend of Shiva in the epics. The Padma Purana says that Kubera prayed to Shiva for many years, and Shiva granted him the kingship of yakshas. A description of Kubera's magnificent court appears in the Mahabharata as well as
768-477: A handful of Telugu inscriptions in the Kakatiya era between 1135 CE and 1324 CE. Andhra is characterised as having its own mother tongue, and its territory has been equated with the extent of the Telugu language. The equivalence between the Telugu linguistic sphere and the geographical boundaries of Andhra is also brought out in an eleventh-century description of Andhra boundaries. Andhra, according to this text,
864-430: A literary performance that requires immense memory power and an in-depth knowledge of literature and prosody , originated and was specially cultivated among Telugu poets for over five centuries. Roughly 10,000 pre-colonial inscriptions exist in Telugu. In the precolonial era, Telugu became the language of high culture throughout South India . Vijaya Ramaswamy compared it to the overwhelming dominance of French as
960-667: A lotus and a conch respectively. The Agni Purana states that Kubera should be installed in temples as seated on a goat, and with a club in his hand. Kubera's image is prescribed to be that of gold, with multi-coloured attributes. In some sources, especially in Jain depictions, Kubera is depicted as a drunkard, signified by the "nectar vessel" in his hand. The exact origins of the name Kubera are unknown. "Kubera" or "Kuvera" (कुवेर) as spelt in later Sanskrit, means "deformed or monstrous" or "ill-shaped one"; indicating his deformities. Another theory suggests that Kubera may be derived from
1056-579: A sheaf of jewels or a mongoose with him. In Tibet, the mongoose is considered a symbol of Kubera's victory over nāgas —the guardians of treasures. Kubera is usually depicted with a mongoose in Buddhist iconography. In the Vishnudharmottara Purana , Kubera is described as the embodiment of both Artha ("wealth, prosperity, glory") and Arthashastra s, the treatises related to it—and his iconography mirrors it. Kubera's complexion
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#17327802514641152-402: A son, as Srinivasa. Vakula Devi travelled from her hermitage to approach Akasha Raja with her proposal of marriage between Srinivasa and Padmavathi. In the meantime, the restless deity came to the city in the disguise of a fortune-teller. Princess Padmavathi also fell in love with Srinivasa and fell ill after returning to the palace. Unable to diagnose the cause of her sickness, the maids invited
1248-431: A tamarind tree beside a pushkarini (lake), and started chanting the name of his wife, Mahalakshmi. He then reincarnated as Srinivasa (or presented himself after penance in the ant-hill) as the son of the elderly woman Vakula Devi , who was the rebirth of Yashoda the deity Krishna 's foster-mother. Unhappy that she had been unable to attend Krishna's wedding to Rukmini , the deity promised that he would be reborn to her as
1344-933: Is Tirumala of the Telugu ation. Telugu place names are present all around Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Common suffixes are - ooru, -pudi, -padu, -peta, -pattanam, -wada, - gallu, -cherla, -seema, -gudem, -palle, -palem, -konda, -veedu, -valasa, -pakam, -paka, -prolu, -wolu, -waka, -ili, -kunta, -parru, -villi, -gadda, -kallu, -eru, -varam,-puram,-pedu and - palli . Examples that use this nomenclature are Nellore , Tadepalligudem , Guntur , Chintalapudi , Yerpedu , Narasaraopeta , Sattenapalle , Visakapatnam , Vizianagaram , Ananthagiri , Vijayawada , Vuyyuru , Macherla , Poranki , Ramagundam , Warangal , Mancherial , Peddapalli , Siddipet , Pithapuram , Banswada , and Miryalaguda . There are four regional dialects in Telugu: Colloquially, Telangana , Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra dialects are considered
1440-522: Is Venkateswara Temple situated at Tirumala , a suburb of Tirupati . Venkateswara is also the primary deity at the following temples: Telugu language Telugu ( / ˈ t ɛ l ʊ ɡ uː / ; తెలుగు , Telugu pronunciation: [ˈt̪eluɡu] ) is a classical Dravidian language native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana , where it is also the official language . Spoken by about 96 million people (2022), Telugu
1536-592: Is a combination of the words Venkata (the name of a hill in Andhra Pradesh) and iśvara ("Lord"). According to the Brahmanda and Bhavishyottara Puranas , the word "Venkata" means "destroyer of sins", deriving from the Sanskrit words vem (sins) and kata (power of immunity). Venkateswara is known by many names such as Srinivasa ( in whom Lakshmi dwells ), Narayana ( The Primordial One ), Perumal (
1632-660: Is also called Guhyadhipa ("Lord of the hidden"). The Atharvaveda calls him the "god of hiding". In the Atharvaveda —where he first appears —and the Shatapatha Brahmana , Kubera is the chief of evil spirits or spirits of darkness, and son of Vaishravana. The Shatapatha Brahmana calls him the Lord of thieves and criminals. In the Manusmriti , he becomes a respectable lokapala ("world protector") and
1728-678: Is attributed to the Renati Choda king Dhanunjaya and found in the Kadapa district . An early Telugu label inscription, "tolacuwānḍru" (తొలచువాండ్రు; transl. rock carvers or quarrymen ), is found on one of the rock-cut caves around the Keesaragutta temple , 35 kilometers from Hyderabad . This inscription is dated to the Vishnukundina period of around 400 CE and is the earliest known short Telugu inscription from
1824-743: Is considered one of the most conservative languages of the Dravidian family based on its linguistic features. One of the earliest Telugu words, nágabu , found at the Amaravati Stupa , is dated to around 200 BCE. This word was further analyzed by Iravatham Mahadevan in his attempts to decipher the Indus script . Several Telugu words, primarily personal and place names, were identified at Amaravati , Nagarjunakonda , Krishna river basin , Ballari , Eluru , Ongole and Nellore between 200 BCE and 500 CE. The Ghantasala Brahmin inscription and
1920-493: Is described as that of lotus leaves. He rides a man—the state personified, adorned in golden clothes and ornaments, symbolizing his wealth. His left eye is yellow. He wears an armour and a necklace down to his large belly. The Vishnudharmottara Purana further describes his face to be inclined to the left, sporting a beard and mustache, and with two small tusks protruding from the ends of his mouth, representing his powers to punish and to bestow favours. His wife Riddhi, representing
2016-518: Is extremely difficult to distinguish between Pancika and Kubera. The Japanese Bishamon, also known as Tamon-Ten, is one of the Jūni-Ten (十二天), a group of 12 Hindu deities adopted in Buddhism as guardian deities ( deva or ten ) who are found in or around Buddhist shrines. The Juni-Ten group of twelve deities were created by adding four deities to the older grouping of Happou-Ten, the eight guardians of
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#17327802514642112-533: Is largely taken by the god of wisdom, fortune and obstacle-removal, Ganesha , with whom he is generally associated. Kubera is recognized outside India and Hinduism as well. Kubera is a popular figure in Buddhist as well as Jain mythology. The Orientalist Nagendra Kumar Singh remarked that, "Every Indian religion has a Kubera after the Hindu prototype". Kubera is the Buddhist Vaiśravaṇa or Jambhala, and
2208-584: Is marked by further stylisation and sophistication of the literary languages. During this period the split of the Telugu from the Telugu-Kannada alphabet took place. The Vijayanagara Empire gained dominance from 1336 to the late 17th century, reaching its peak during the rule of Krishnadevaraya in the 16th century, when Telugu literature experienced what is considered its Golden Age . The 15th-century Venetian explorer Niccolò de' Conti , who visited
2304-475: Is named Chaitrarath. Kubera also enjoys the titles "king of the whole world", "king of kings" ( Rajaraja ), "Lord of wealth" ( Dhanadhipati ) and "giver of wealth" ( Dhanada ). His titles are sometimes related to his subjects: "king of yakshas " ( Yaksharajan ), "Lord of rakshasas " ( Rakshasadhipati ), "Lord of Guhyakas " ( Guhyakadhipa ), "king of Kinnaras "( Kinnararaja ), "king of animals resembling men" ( Mayuraja ), and "king of men" ( Nararaja ). Kubera
2400-511: Is offered prayers at the end of all ritual sacrifices. His titles, such as "best of kings" and "Lord of kings" (The Harivamsa indicates that Kubera is made "Lord of kings"), in contrast to the god-king of heaven, Indra , whose title of "best of gods" led to the later belief that Kubera was a man. The early texts Gautama Dharmashastra and Apastamba describe him as a man. Only the Grihyasutra s of Shankhayana and Hiranyakesin call him
2496-893: Is the fastest-growing language in the United States. It is also a protected language in South Africa and is offered as an optional third language in schools in KwaZulu-Natal province. According to Mikhail S. Andronov, Telugu split from the Proto-Dravidian language around 1000 BCE. The earliest Telugu words appear in Prakrit inscriptions dating to c. 4th century BCE , found in Bhattiprolu , Andhra Pradesh. Telugu label inscriptions and Prakrit inscriptions containing Telugu words have been dated to
2592-530: Is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language family, and one of the twenty-two scheduled languages of the Republic of India . It is one of the few languages that has primary official status in more than one Indian state , alongside Hindi and Bengali . Telugu is one of the languages designated as a classical language by the Government of India . It is the 14th most spoken native language in
2688-588: Is the presiding deity of the Tirupati temple. It is believed that the deity is Swayambhu (self manifested). Ten Puranas state that Tirupati is a form of Lord Vishnu. Even deity appears similar to 108 Divya Desams - Vaishnava temple Vishnu deities. The deity is believed to be as old as the "Shila thoranam" in Tirumala. Tirumala has tremendous fame from the ancient period. The deity is referred to as 'Balaji' by North Indians. The scriptures state that Venkateshwara
2784-577: Is the saviour of all suffering people in the Kali Yuga . In the 12th century, Ramanuja visited Tirupati to settle a dispute that had arisen between the Shaivites and Vaishnavites regarding the nature of the deity set up in the Tirumala temple. Until that, Deity was worshipped as Shiva for six months and Vishnu as another six months in a year. Ramanuja streamlined the rituals at Tirumala temple according to Vaikanasa Agama tradition, and introduced
2880-527: The Meghaduta . Here, gandharvas and apsaras entertain Kubera. Shiva and his wife Parvati often frequent Kubera's court, which is attended by semi-divine beings like the vidyadharas ; kimpurushas ; rakshasas; pishachas ; as well as Padma and Shankha; personified treasures ( nidhi ); and Manibhadra, Kubera's chief attendant and chief of his army. Like every world-protector, Kubera has seven seers of
2976-630: The kaifiyats . In the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, the influence of the English language was seen, and modern communication/printing press arose as an effect of British rule , especially in the areas that were part of the Madras Presidency . Literature from this time had a mix of classical and modern traditions and included works by such scholars as Gidugu Venkata Ramamoorty , Kandukuri Veeresalingam , Gurajada Apparao , Gidugu Sitapati and Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao . In
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3072-630: The Bhagavad Gita . Lord Venkateswara is known to stand for goodness. His disc is believed to annihilate evil, while the conch is presumed to produce the cosmic sound that puts an end to the world's ignorance. Venkateswara is also known as Sat-Chit-Ananda . Venkateswara finds his mention in the Puranas , mainly in Padma Purana and Skanda Purana (as a form of Vishnu). Other Puranas also describe him as an avatar of Vishnu. Additionally,
3168-638: The Moolavirat , which are together referred to as the Pancha beramulu in Telugu (pancha means five; beram means deity). The five deities are Dhruva Beram (Moolavar), Kautuka Beram, Snapana Beram, Utsava Beram, and Bali Beram. All the pancha berams are placed in the Garbha griha under Ananda Nilayam . In the Venkateswara Temple over 433 festivals are being observed in 365 days of a year suiting
3264-628: The Satavahana dynasty , Vishnukundina dynasty , and Andhra Ikshvakus . The coin legends of the Satavahanas, in all areas and all periods, used a Prakrit dialect without exception. Some reverse coin legends are in Telugu and Tamil languages. The period from the 4th century CE to 1022 CE marks the second phase of Telugu history, following the Andhra Ikshvaku period. The first long inscription entirely in Telugu, dated to 575 CE,
3360-606: The Trimurti in their abodes. Bhrigu visited Brahma in Brahmaloka and Shiva in Kailasha and went unnoticed by both of these deities. He finally reached Vaikuntha and met Vishnu , who was absorbed in meditation with his feet being attended to by his consort, the goddess Lakshmi . A furious Bhrigu kicked Vishnu's chest (the abode of Lakshmi) and angered Lakshmi. But a calm Vishnu asked for forgiveness of Bhrigu, and served
3456-716: The Vijayanagara Empire , found that the words in the Telugu language end with vowels, just like those in Italian , and hence referred to it as "The Italian of the East"; a saying that has been widely repeated. A distinct dialect developed in present-day Hyderabad region, due to Persian and Arabic influence. This influence began with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate rule by the Tughlaq dynasty in
3552-666: The 13th century, and consist of 70 slokas in four parts, including Suprabhatam (29), Stotram (11), Prapatti (14), and Mangalasasanam (16). The Dayashataka , a Sanskrit work containing ten decads, was composed by the philosopher Vedanta Desika in praise of the deity. Tallapaka Annamacharya (Annamayya), the poet saint of the 14th century, one of the greatest Telugu poets and a great devotee of Venkateswara, had sung 32,000 songs in praise of Venkateswara. All his songs, which are in Telugu and Sanskrit , are referred to as Sankirtanas and are classified as Sringara Sankirtanalu and Adhyatma Sankirtanalu. The most prominent shrine of Venkateswara
3648-520: The East. Kubera's status as a lokapala and a dikpala is assured in the Ramayana , but in the Mahabharata , some lists do not include Kubera. Thus, Kubera is considered a later addition to the original list of Loka-pala s, where the gods Agni or Soma appear in his place. This status, the Ramayana records, was granted to Kubera by Brahma —the creator-god and father of Pulastya—as a reward for his severe penance. Brahma also conferred upon Kubera
3744-669: The Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . It is one of the 22 languages under schedule 8 of the constitution of India . It is one of the official languages of the union territories of Puducherry . Telugu is a protected language in South Africa . According to the Constitution of South Africa , the Pan South African Language Board must promote and ensure respect for Telugu along with other languages. The Government of South Africa announced that Telugu will be re-included as an official subject in
3840-625: The Japanese Bishamon. The Buddhist Vaisravana, like the Hindu Kubera, is the regent of the North, a lokapala and the Lord of yakshas. He is one of the Four Heavenly Kings , each associated with a cardinal direction. In Buddhist legends, Kubera is also equated with Pañcika , whose wife Hariti is the symbol of abundance. The iconography of Kubera and Pancika is so similar that in certain cases, A. Getty comments, it
3936-490: The North in residence. Alaka is recorded to be plundered by Ravana once, and attacked by the Pandava prince, Bhima once. Kubera's Nairrata army is described to have defeated king Mucukunda, who then defeated them by the advice of his guru Vashishta . Shukra , the preceptor of the asuras, is also recorded to have defeated Kubera and stolen his wealth. Another major tale in the scriptures records how Kubera entertained
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4032-688: The South African schools after it was removed from the curriculum in state schools. In addition, with the creation in October 2004 of a legal status for classical languages by the Government of India on 8 August 2008, Telugu was also given classical language status due to several campaigns. According to the famous Japanese historian Noboru Karashima who served as the president of the Epigraphical Society of India in 1985, there are approximately 10,000 inscriptions which exist in
4128-582: The Telangana region. Several titles of Mahendravarman I in Telugu language, dated to c. 600 CE , were inscribed on cave-inscriptions in Tamil Nadu. From the 6th century onwards, complete Telugu inscriptions began to appear in districts neighbouring Kadapa such as Prakasam and Palnadu . Metrically composed Telugu inscriptions and those with ornamental or literary prose appear from 630 CE. The Madras Museum plates of Balliya-Choda dated to
4224-579: The Telugu language as of the year 1996 making it one of the most densely inscribed languages. Telugu inscriptions are found in all the districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are also found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. According to recent estimates by ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) the number of inscriptions in the Telugu language goes up to 14,000. Adilabad, Medak, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy, Hyderabad, Mahbubnagar, Anantapur, Chittoor and Srikakulam produced only
4320-590: The United States and the third most spoken South Asian language after Hindi and Urdu . Minority Telugus are also found in Australia , New Zealand , Bahrain , Canada , Fiji , Malaysia , Sri Lanka , Singapore , Mauritius , Myanmar , Europe ( Italy , the United Kingdom ), South Africa , Trinidad and Tobago , and the United Arab Emirates . Telugu is the official language of
4416-424: The battle against Kubera. Kubera also developed as minor marriage-divinity. He is invoked with Shiva at weddings and is described as Kameshvara ("Lord of Kama – pleasure, desire etc."). He is associated with fertility of the aquatic type. The Purana s and the Mahabharata record that Kubera married Bhadra ("auspicious"), or Riddhi ("prosperity"), daughter of the demon Mura. She is also called Yakshi –
4512-428: The brother of Kubera, so Kubera is described as the uncle of Ravana and his siblings. It records that when Kubera approached Brahma for the favour of superseding his father Pulastya, Pulastya created Vishrava. To seek the favour of Vishrava, Kubera sent three women to him, by whom Vishrava begot his demon children. Ravana, after acquiring a boon of Brahma, drove Kubera away from Lanka and seized his Pushpaka Vimana, which
4608-399: The celestial wedding, Brahma and Shiva explained to Lakshmi her consort Vishnu's desire to be on the seven hills for the emancipation of mankind from the perpetual troubles of Kali Yuga . Lakshmi as well as her form as Padmavathi also turn into stone idols as an expression of their wish to always be with their deity. Lakshmi stays with him on the left side of his chest while Padmavathi rests on
4704-570: The city of Alaka in the Himalayas . Descriptions of the "glory" and "splendour" of Kubera's city are found in many scriptures. Kubera has also been assimilated into the Buddhist and Jain pantheons. In Buddhism, he is known as Vaisravana , the patronymic used of the Hindu Kubera and is also equated with Pañcika , while in Jainism, he is known as Sarvanubhuti . Kubera is often depicted as
4800-497: The cultural language of Europe during roughly the same era. Telugu also predominates in the evolution of Carnatic music , one of two main subgenres of Indian classical music and is widely taught in music colleges focusing on Carnatic tradition. Over the centuries, many non-Telugu speakers have praised the natural musicality of Telugu speech, referring to it as a mellifluous and euphonious language. Speakers of Telugu refer to it as simply Telugu or Telugoo . Older forms of
4896-400: The day on which it is believed that Vaikunta Dwarams will be opened. The Tirumala Venkateswara Temple will be flooded with devotees, to have a darshan of Venkateswara through special entrance which encircles inner sanctum called "Vaikunta Dwaram". Ratha Saptami , is another festival, celebrated during February, when Venkateswara's processional deity (Malayappa) is taken in a procession around
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#17327802514644992-484: The deity Venkateshwara (a form of Vishnu) for his marriage with Padmavati . In remembrance of this, the reason devotees go to Tirupati to donate money in Venkateshwara's Hundi ("Donation pot"), is so that he can pay it back to Kubera. He is also associated with Lakshmi for this reason, and is sometimes represented with her as Kubera Lakshmi. While Kubera still enjoys prayers as the god of wealth, his role
5088-470: The directions. Bishamon rules over the north, like his Hindu counterpart Kubera. In Jainism, Kubera is the attendant yaksha of the 19th Tirthankar Mallinath . He is usually called Sarvanubhuti or Sarvahna , and may be depicted with four faces, rainbow colours and eight arms. The Digambara sect of Jainism gives him six weapons and three heads; while the Śvetāmbaras portray him with four to six arms, numerous choices of weapons, though his attributes,
5184-680: The era of Emperor Ashoka (257 BCE), as well as to the Satavahana and Vishnukundina periods. Inscriptions in Old Telugu script were found as far away as Indonesia and Myanmar . Telugu has been in use as an official language for over 1,400 years and has served as the court language for numerous dynasties in Southern and Eastern India, including the Eastern Chalukyas , Eastern Gangas , Kakatiyas , Vijayanagara Empire , Qutb Shahis , Madurai Nayaks , and Thanjavur Nayaks . It
5280-597: The exception of /ɳ/ and /ɭ/, all occur word-initial in a few words, such as / ʈ ɐkːu/ ṭakku 'pretence', / ʈ iːʋi/ ṭhīvi 'grandeur', / ɖ ipːɐ/ ḍippā 'half of a spherical object', and / ʂ oːku/ ṣōku 'fashionable appearance'. The approximant /j/ occurs in word-initial position only in borrowed words, such as. / j ɐnɡu/ yangu , from English 'young', / j ɐʃɐsːu/ yaśassu from Sanskrit yaśas /jɐʃɐs/ 'fame'. Vowels in Telugu contrast in length; there are short and long versions of all vowels except for /æ/, which only occurs as long. Long vowels can occur in any position within
5376-412: The fortune-teller into the palace to foretell the future of the princess. When the fortune-teller revealed that Padmavathi was born to marry Vishnu in his current avatar as Srinivasa, she recovered. As the king heard this news, Vakula announced herself to the king and asked for his daughter's hand in marriage to her son, Srinivasa. The overjoyed king agreed and his advisor Brihaspati wrote the invitation for
5472-516: The great Lord, on account of his association with other people, or out of curiosity, or due to covetousness or on account of fear, he shall not be miserable here or hereafter. One who glorifies and worships the Lord of Devas on Veṅkaṭācala shall certainly attain Sārūpya with Viṣṇu. There is no doubt about it. Just as a well-kindled fire reduces firewood to ash in a moment, so also a visit to Veṅkaṭeśa destroys all sins. Venkateshwara, an aspect of Vishnu,
5568-576: The great lord ), Malayappa ( the lord of the Hill ) and Govinda (Protector of Cows). In Tamil, he is commonly called "Elumalayan", meaning Lord of Seven Hills. In Telugu, he is commonly known as "ఏడు కొండలవాడా,” (Ēḍu Koṇḍala Vāḍā), also meaning the Lord of the Seven Hills. In Tamil, the hill name was 'Venkatam, Vēṅkaṭam', which is another form of 'Vaikuntam', and it follows that Lord Venkateswara means Lord Vaikunteswara or God of Vaikunta. Vaikunta refers to
5664-488: The journey of life, is seated on his left lap, with her left hand on the back of Kubera and the right holding a ratna-patra (jewel-pot). Kubera should be four-armed, holding a gada (mace: symbol of dandaniti —administration of justice) and a shakti (power) in his left pair, and standards bearing a lion—representing Artha and a shibika (a club, the weapon of Kubera). The nidhi treasures Padma and Shankha stand beside him in human form, with their heads emerging from
5760-496: The land bounded by the three Lingas which is Telugu homeland. P. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao note that Atharvana Acharya in the 13th century wrote a grammar of Telugu, calling it the Trilinga Śabdānusāsana (or Trilinga Grammar) . However, most scholars note that Atharvana's grammar was titled Atharvana Karikavali. Appa Kavi in the 17th century explicitly wrote that Telugu was derived from Trilinga . Scholar C. P. Brown made
5856-488: The last of which can be interpreted as a Telugu rendition of " Trilinga ". Telugu, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian , a proto-language . Linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the fourth millennium BCE. Comparative linguistics confirms that Telugu belongs to the South Dravidian-II (also called South-Central Dravidian) sub-group, which also includes
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#17327802514645952-564: The lordship of the Nairrata demons. Both the Purana s and the Ramayana feature the half-blood siblings of Kubera. Vishrava, Kubera's father, also married the rakshasa (demigod) princess Kaikesi , who mothered four rakshasa children: Ravana , the chief antagonist of the Ramayana, and his siblings, Kumbhakarna , Vibhishana , and Shurpanaka . The Mahabharata regards Vishrava as
6048-412: The mid-ninth century CE, are the earliest copper plate grants in the Telugu language. During this period, Telugu was heavily influenced by Sanskrit and Prakrit, corresponding to the advent of Telugu literature. Initially, Telugu literature appeared in inscriptions and poetry in the courts of rulers, and later in written works, such as Nannayya 's Andhra Mahabharatam (1022 CE). The third phase
6144-415: The name Ekaksipingala ("one who has one yellow eye"). He is also called Bhutesha ("Lord of spirits") like Shiva. Kubera usually is drawn by spirits or men ( nara ), so is called Nara-vahana , one whose vahana (mount) is nara . Hopkins interprets nara s as being water-spirits, although Mani translates nara as men. Kubera also rides the elephant called Sarvabhauma as a loka-pala . His garden
6240-414: The name include Teluṅgu and Tenuṅgu . Tenugu is derived from the Proto-Dravidian word *ten ("south") to mean "the people who lived in the south/southern direction" (relative to Sanskrit and Prakrit -speaking peoples). The name Telugu , then, is a result of an "n" to "l" alternation established in Telugu. The popular belief holds that Telugu is derived from Trilinga of Trilinga Kshetras being
6336-590: The neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu , Karnataka , Maharashtra , Odisha , Chhattisgarh , some parts of Jharkhand , and the Kharagpur region of West Bengal in India. Many Telugu immigrants are also found in the states of Gujarat , Goa , Bihar , Kashmir , Uttar Pradesh , Punjab , Haryana , and Rajasthan . As of 2018 7.2% of the population, Telugu is the fourth-most-spoken native language in India after Hindi , Bengali , and Marathi . In Karnataka , 7.0% of
6432-441: The non-literary languages like Gondi , Kuvi , Koya , Pengo , Konda and Manda. Proto-Telugu is the reconstructed linguistic ancestor of all the dialects and registers of Telugu. Russian linguist Mikhail S. Andronov, places the split of Telugu at c. 1000 BCE. The linguistic history of Telugu is periodised as follows: Pre-historic Telugu is identified with the period around 600 BCE or even earlier. Pre-historic Telugu
6528-594: The northern Deccan Plateau during the 14th century. In the latter half of the 17th century, the Mughal Empire extended further south, culminating in the establishment of the Hyderabad State by the dynasty of the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1724. This heralded an era of Persian influence on the Telugu language, especially Hyderabad State. The effect is also evident in the prose of the early 19th century, as in
6624-433: The owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted with a plump body, adorned with jewels, and carrying a money-pot and a club. Originally described as the chief of evil spirits in Vedic -era texts, Kubera acquired the status of a deva (god) only in the Purana s and the Hindu epics . The scriptures describe that Kubera once ruled Lanka , but was overthrown by his half-brother Ravana , later settling in
6720-421: The past tense. Kubera Traditional Kubera ( Sanskrit : कुबेर , IAST : Kubera ) also known as Kuvera , Kuber and Kuberan , is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism . He is regarded as the regent of the north ( Dikpala ) , and a protector of the world ( Lokapala ). His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species, and
6816-476: The patron of merchants. In the epic Mahabharata , Kubera is described as the son of Prajapati Pulastya and his wife Idavida, and the brother of sage Vishrava . Kubera is described as born from a cow. However, from the Purana s, he is described as the grandson of Pulastya and the son of Vishrava and his wife Ilavida (or Ilivila or Devavarnini), daughter of the sage Bharadvaja or Trinabindu. By this time, though still described as an asura , Kubera
6912-638: The pillar inscription of Vijaya Satakarni at Vijayapuri, Nagarjunakonda , and other locations date to the first century CE. Additionally, the Tummalagudem inscription of the Vishnukundinas dates to the 5th century CE. Telugu place names in Prakrit inscriptions are attested from the 2nd century CE onwards. A number of Telugu words were found in the Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions of
7008-592: The population speak Telugu, and 5.6% in Tamil Nadu . There are more than 400,000 Telugu Americans in the United States . As of 2018 , Telugu is the fastest-growing language in the United States , (especially in New Jersey and New York City ), with the number of Telugu speakers in the United States increasing by 86% between 2010 and 2017. As of 2021 , it is the 18th most spoken native language in
7104-678: The princely Hyderabad State , the Andhra Mahasabha was started in 1921 with the main goal of promoting Telugu language, literature, its books and historical research. Key figures in this movement included Madapati Hanumantha Rao (founder of the Andhra Mahasabha), Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rao (founder of the Library Movement in Hyderabad State), and Suravaram Pratapa Reddy . Since the 1930s, what
7200-634: The recitation of the Naalayira Divya Prabandham . He also set up the Tirupati Jeeyar Matha in 1119 AD, in consultation with Tirumalai Ananthalwan to institutionalise service to the deity and supervise the temple rituals. The Jeeyars, to this day, ensures that the rituals ordained by Ramanuja are observed. According to the Vaikhanasa Agamas, Venkateswara is represented by five deities (berams) including
7296-548: The residence of Lord Vishnu. The Venkateswara mantra is " Om Namo Venkateshaya " Every year, hundreds of thousands of devotees donate a large amount of wealth at the Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati , Andhra Pradesh . A legend provides the reason for the tradition of providing donations. Narada once observed a few rishis performing a holy yagna . Unable to decide who the yagna should benefit, he recruited sage Bhrigu to decide after he had met with each of
7392-531: The riches of the world ( Nidhis ), "equality with gods", and the Pushpaka Vimana , a flying chariot. Kubera then ruled in the golden city of Lanka , identified with modern-day Sri Lanka . The Mahabharata says that Brahma conferred upon Kubera the lordship of wealth, friendship with Shiva, godhood, status as a world-protector, a son called Nalakubera / Nalakubara , the Pushpaka Vimana and
7488-600: The right side of his chest. The idol of Venkateswara has the attributes of both Vishnu and Shiva - the preserving and destroying aspects of the Hindu Trinity. The deity wears ornaments associated with Vishnu, but also ornaments such as the Naga, associated with Lord Shiva. As such, followers believe that Venkateswara represents the vishwarup, or universal form, encompassing all of God's forms as described in Chapter 11 of
7584-484: The sage Ashtavakra in his palace. Kubera is the treasurer of the gods, and the overlord of the semi-divine yakshas, the guhyaka s, kinnara s and gandharvas, who act as his assistants and protectors of the jewels of the earth, as well as guardians of his city. Kubera is also the guardian of travelers and the giver of wealth to individuals, who please him. The rakshasas also serve Kubera, however, some cannibalistic rakshasas are described to have sided with Ravana in
7680-421: The sage by massaging his legs. During this act, he squashed the extra eye that was present on the sole of Bhrigu's foot, which destroyed the sage's egotism. Lakshmi then departed from Vaikuntha , arrived at the region of Varaha Kshetra and performed an intense penance for twelve years, after which she was born as Padmavathi to Akasha Raja. After Lakshmi left, Vishnu went to Venkata Hill, sat in an anthill under
7776-534: The state that is currently divided into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It also has official language status in the Yanam district of the union territory of Puducherry . It is the fourth most spoken Indian language in India after Hindi , Bengali and Marathi . It is one of the six classical languages of India . Telugu Language Day is celebrated every year on 29 August, the birthday of Telugu poet Gidugu Venkata Ramamurthy . The fourth World Telugu Conference
7872-550: The temple on seven different vahanams starting from early morning to late night. The Venkateswara Suprabhatam is the first and pre-dawn prayer performed to Venkateswara at Sayana Mandapam, within the inner sanctum of the Tirumala Temple. 'Suprabhatam' is a Sanskrit term, which literally means 'morning salutations', and is meant to wake up the deity from his celestial sleep. The Venkateswara Suprabhatam hymns were composed by Prathivadhi Bhayankaram Annangaracharya during
7968-459: The text, Shri Venkatachala Mahatmyam glorifies the deity and has hymns related to his worship. Skanda Purana extols the significance of worshipping this deity: If people wish for perpetual happiness and kingdom in heaven, let them joyously bow down at least once to the Lord residing on Veṅkaṭādri. Whatever may be the sins committed in the course of crores of births, all of them perish by visiting Venkateswara. If anyone remembers Veṅkaṭeśa,
8064-572: The three Telugu dialects and regions. Waddar , Chenchu , and Manna-Dora are all closely related to Telugu. Other dialects of Telugu are Berad, Dasari, Dommara, Golari, Kamathi, Komtao, Konda-Reddi, Salewari, Vadaga, Srikakula, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Rayalaseema, Nellore, Guntur, Vadari Bangalore, and Yanadi. The Roman transliteration used for transcribing the Telugu script is the National Library at Kolkata romanisation . Telugu words generally end in vowels. In Old Telugu, this
8160-437: The title "Nitya Kalyanam Paccha Toranam" where every day is a festival. Sri Venkateswara Brahmotsavams , a nine-day event, which is celebrated every year during month of October, is the major event of Venkateswara Temple. During brahmotsavams the processional deity Malayappa along with his consorts SriDevi and BhuDevi, is taken in a procession in four mada streets around the temple on different vahanams. Vaikuntha Ekadashi ,
8256-531: The transliteration of the Telugu script used here (where different from IPA). Most consonants contrast in length in word-medial position, meaning that there are long (geminated) and short phonetic renderings of the sounds. A few examples of words that contrast by length of word-medial consonants: All retroflex consonants occur in intervocalic position and when adjacent to a retroflex consonant, for instance. /ʋɐː ɳ iː/ vāṇī 'tippet', /kɐ ʈɳ ɐm/ kaṭṇam 'dowry', /pɐ ɳɖ u/ paṇḍu 'fruit'; /kɐ ɭ ɐ/ kaḷa 'art'. With
8352-620: The verb root kumba , meaning to conceal. Kuvera is also split as ku (earth), and vira (hero). As the son of Vishrava ("Fame"), Kubera is called Vaisravana (in the Pali language , Vessavana) and as the son of Ilavila, Ailavila . Vaisravana is sometimes translated as the "Son of Fame". The Sutta Nitapa commentary says that Vaisravana is derived from a name of Kubera's kingdom, Visana . Once, Kubera looked at Shiva and his wife Parvati with jealousy, so he lost one of his eyes. Parvati also turned this deformed eye yellow. So, Kubera gained
8448-421: The wedding between the two deities. Srinivasa asked the gods for consent to his marriage with Padmavathi. The deity also obtained a large loan from Kubera , the god of wealth, towards the expenses for the wedding as well as provide proof of his wealth. According to legends, Venkateswara married Padmavathi at Kalyana Venkateswara Temple, Narayanavanam , after which they moved to Tirumala. About six months after
8544-464: The word, but native Telugu words do not end in a long vowel. Short vowels occur in all positions of a word, with the exception of /o/, which does not occur word-finally. The vowels of Telugu are illustrated below, along with the Telugu script and romanisation. In most dialects, the vowel /æː/ only occurs in loan words. In the Guntur dialect, [æː] is a frequent allophone of /aː/ in certain verbs in
8640-518: The world. Modern Standard Telugu is based on the dialect of erstwhile Krishna, Guntur, East Godavari and West Godavari districts of Coastal Andhra . Telugu is also spoken in the states of Karnataka , Tamil Nadu , Maharashtra , Chhattisgarh , Orissa and the union territories of Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands . It is also spoken by members of the Telugu diaspora spread across countries like United States , Australia , Malaysia , Mauritius , UAE , Saudi Arabia and others. Telugu
8736-413: Was absolute; in the modern language m, n, y, w may end a word. Sanskrit loans have introduced aspirated and murmured consonants as well. Telugu does not have contrastive stress , and speakers vary on where they perceive stress. Most place it on the penultimate or final syllable, depending on word and vowel length. The table below lists the consonant phonemes of Telugu, along with the symbols used in
8832-470: Was also used as an official language outside its homeland, even by non-Telugu dynasties such as the Thanjavur Marathas in Tamil Nadu. Telugu has an unbroken, prolific, and diverse literary tradition of over a thousand years. Pavuluri Mallana 's Sāra Sangraha Ganitamu ( c. 11th century ) is the first scientific treatise on mathematics in any Dravidian language. Avadhānaṃ ,
8928-507: Was bounded in north by Mahendra mountain in the modern Ganjam district in Odisha and to the south by Srikalahasteeswara temple in Tirupati district . However, Andhra extended westwards as far as Srisailam in Nandyal district , about halfway across the modern state. According to other sources in the early sixteenth century, the northern boundary is Simhachalam and the southern limit
9024-423: Was considered an "elite" literary form of the Telugu language has now spread to the common people with the introduction of mass media like movies, television, radio and newspapers. This form of the language is also taught in schools and colleges as a standard. Telugu is one of the 22 languages with official status in India . The Andhra Pradesh Official Language Act, 1966, declares Telugu the official language of
9120-508: Was organised in Tirupati in the last week of December 2012. Issues related to Telugu language policy were deliberated at length. The American Community Survey has said that data for 2016 which were released in September 2017 showed Telugu is the third most widely spoken Indian language in the US. Hindi tops the list followed by Gujarati, as of the 2010 census . In the Indian subcontinent,
9216-406: Was returned to Kubera after Ravana's death. Kubera then settled on Gandhamandana mountain, near Mount Kailash – the abode of the god Shiva —in the Himalayas . Sometimes, Kailash itself is called Kubera's residence. His city is usually called Alaka or Alaka-puri ("curl-city"), but also Prabha ("splendour"), Vasudhara ("bejeweled") and Vasu-sthali ("abode of treasures"). There, Kubera had
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