After the struggle for a decade, the works on the Vakulamatha temple is almost completed and the shrine is ready for inauguration by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in a week.
According to mythology, ‘Vakula Matha’ is considered the foster mother of Lord Venkateswara (earlier known as Srinivasa), who had cared for him on his arrival at the Tirumala hills. She is also considered an incarnation of Yashoda, the foster-mother of Lord Krishna in ‘Dwaparayuga’.
Ahead of leaving for His heavenly abode, Lord Venkateswara accorded her a prime place close to his heart and named the huge garland adorned to the ‘Moolavirat’ (presiding deity) after her. Even today, the garland is called as ‘Vakula Mala’.
The dilapidated temple atop the Peruru hillock on the city outskirts has been revived after it was retrieved from the clutches of the stone crushers, who had ravaged it beyond recognition.
The shrine has witnessed several agitations over the last decade, with seers, Hindutva bodies and social activists demanding its revival. After the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) offered to get it partly constructed, Minister for Environment and Forests Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy offered to contribute for its development.
The Minister has spent an unspecified amount on the temple structure, including the sanctum sanctorum, the Vimana atop it and the Mukha Mandapam. The TTD has constructed a huge compound wall skirting the hillock at a cost of ₹2.90 crore, apart from a welcome arch built with ₹50 lakh and a multipurpose shed for devotees set up at a cost of ₹1.21 crore.
