Legend Of Sri Venkateswara Temple

The Lord comes to the hills: Puranas speak of how sage Brigu once insulted Vishnu in Vaikuntam by stamping his feet on the Lords chest, where Goddess Lakshmi resides. An annoyed Devi deserted the Lord, proceeded to Earth and started doing penance in a forest. This region is said to be the present Kolhapur, the abode of Mahalakshmi. The Lord searched in vain for His consort and finally reached the ashram of Vakuladevi, an ardent devotee of Sri Varahaswamy, on the Seven Hills (Saptagiri). She was Yashoda in the Krishna Avataar and had come here in advance to witness her son Krishnas marriage.

She named Him as Srinivasa and brought Him up. In course of time, Srinivasa met Padmavathi on the hills and fell in love with her. Padmavathi was an incarnation of Bhoodevi and princess of Narayanapuram, whom He had promised to marry in Rama Avataar. Vakuladevi, with the help of sage Narada and the Devas, is said to have conducted the wedding. The royal wedding meant raising of huge funds. He looked to Kubera, the Celestial Cashier, for help. Kubera insisted on repayment with interest, to which the Lord agreed.

Devotees believe that Kubera with a brass measure, enshrined in the Govindarajaswamy temple at Tirupati at the base of the hills, is believed to be collecting the interest, and the devotees contribute to this by Hundi offerings, which form an important part of the pilgrimage. Hence, in the Telugu state of Andhra Pradesh, the Lord is popularly known as Vaddi Kaasulaswamy (the Lord paying interest).