Vakula Devi Temple: Vakula Devi Rennovation work, Situated atop the peruru hillock on the City. Vakula Matha devi Temple dedicatede to the foster mother of sri venkateswara remained dilapidated for nearly a century and finally became inaccessible after the surrounding rocks were mined over a period of time.

Vakula Devi Temple Peruru Information, Timings

Vakula Devi is Mother of lord venkateswara temple situated at Peruru. Vakula devi treatred lord balaji as a mom treats her own child. Matha Vakula collect fruits, beautiful flowers and veggies. She used to prepare prasadam for him several times a day. as symbolic of motherly love, temple in her name was built about 300 years back on peruru hillock. the priests ring the huge bells at Vakula maata temple to point that naivedhyam is offered to mother, later priests at Tirumala submitted offerings to lord venkateswara swamy. Temple was functioning,the first pooja was done here and then, pooja was started in Main Tirumala Temple,Later during Hyder Ali and Tippu Sulthan invaded Chandra giri,This temple faced it’s share of loot and plunder,and Temple became non funtional and lost its old glory.

According to Archaeological Survey of India officials, the department received a photograph of the inscription sent to them by senior conservation assistant Sathyam, ASI, Chandragiri.

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”The inscription engraved on a rock in front of the Vakulamatha temple gopuram at Peruru near Tirupati, is in Tamil language and characters, issued by the Chola king Kolutunga Chola I during his 20th Regnal year (1101 AD). It is damaged and seems to record the installation of deities ”Anchadavinna (kara) perumal” and his wife (Pirattiyar) in the Anchadavinnakar temple of Talaiyur-perur in Kudavur nadu of Tiruvengada Kottam, Jayangondacholamandalam by a certain person from Puliyur kottam”, stated ASI officials.

An access road is coming up from the Tirupati-Chittoor highway up to a portion of the hillock, from where the devotees will have to take the flight of stairs. Work on the Gopuram is completed, while the task of consecrating the canopy (Vimanam) over the sanctum sanctorum is in progress. It is said that the temple was destroyed and plundered by Hyder Ali, the father of Tipu Sultan, of the Mysore Sultanate during his invasion of Chittoor district, as part of expansion of his kingdom. The Vakula maata murti was beheaded, and till date, it is in the same dire condition.

No restoration work on the temple was undertaken whatsoever post-independence. Archeologists expressed dismay and concern over the state of neglect and the detonation activity at such a precious centuries-old shrine, as it is possible that the temple may even collapse due to the weakening of the foundation. After outcry from Hindu organizations, Hindu religious heads and political party leaders expressed anguish over the pathetic condition of the temple and called for a ban of illegal mining activity, the TTD took up restoration work of the Vakula maata Temple with an allocation of Rs. 2 crore including Rs. 15 lakh to be spent on fencing the premises on the hillock.. However, local mining companies approached the Courts and got a stay order in 2010 preventing TTD from taking up renovation of the Temple.

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Interestingly, though the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) took up the staircase work on Peruru Banda hillock as part of renovation of Vakula Matha temple way back in 2011, but still the work has not been completed. During the time, three Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Executive Officers changed. The formation of a staircase to the ancient temple on the hillock commenced recently.

The TTD sanctioned Rs 66 lakh for the granite stairway from down to the hillock to the top. The formation of granite steps is a time consuming process. “After completion of the existing granite, the work may slow down, said workers working at Peruru Banda. “Because of the stone work, there is no time duration for the completion of the stairway to the ancient temple,” the workers said.

It needs to build a 500 to 600 metre long stairway to reach the temple situated at a height of 150 to 200 metres on the hillock. For several decades, quarrying at Peruru Banda which is a hillock spread over 1 km with quality granite, went unabated.

Following concerns expressed by local people, steps were taken to curb illegal quarrying. But by that time, about 70 per cent of the hillock had vanished. The remaining 30 per cent hillock now stands as a witness to the ‘illegal quarrying’which flourished once. The TTD is committed to renovating the ancient temple to make it a major pilgrim destination in Chittoor district.

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