History:
The Tirumala hills are the world's second oldest rock mountains. The Sangam literature of Tamil such as Silapadikaram and Sattanar's Manimekalai, dated between 500 BC to 300 AD, mentions Tiruvengadam (now named Tirupati).
There is no clear history on the origin of the temple of Lord Venkateshwara, but it was maintained and upgraded by various kingdoms. These include the Pallava Kingdom around 4th Century AD, Chola Kingdom over a discrete set of periods from 2nd Century BC to 10th century AD and the latest one being Vijayanagara Empire around 17th century BCE. Krishna Deva Raya the greatest of Vijayanagara Empire led the temple to great popularity by donating gold and other ornaments for the temple and constructing extended shrines. The place of Chandragiri, presently a village few km south west of Tirupati, was used as the secondary capital of Vijayanagara emperor.
The site was an established center of Vaishnavism around 5th century A.D. during which Tirupati was praised by Alvars (Vaishnava saints); belonging to the Bhakti movement in Dravidian Land, who were known for their poems and literary works on Lord Venkateswara. Tirupati's significance in Southern Vaishnava tradition is next only to Srirangam, and the temple rites were formalized by the Vaishnavite saint Ramanujacharya himself, in the 11th century AD.
Tirupati survived the Muslim invasions of South India, unlike other temples such as the Meenakshi temple in Madurai and Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam. It is believed that during the invasions the deity of Sriranganatha from Srirangam was brought to Tirupati for safekeeping. To commemorate this event, a hall in Tirupati is still known as the Ranganatha Mandapam.
The Madras legislature passed a special act in 1933 whereby the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) committee was invested with powers of administration and control through a commissioner appointed by the Government of Madras. A Ryot Advisory Council was formed for the management of the estates of the TTD, and was assisted by a Religious Advisory Council with regard to religious matters.
