Legend of Tirumala
For one of the major Hindu denominations, the Tirumala Sri Venkateshvara Temple at Tirupati in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is the most famous Vaishnavite temple in the world. The presiding deity of Vishnu here is referred to as Venkateshvara. There are many legends regarding this temple. The Sri Venkatachala Mahatyam is the most accepted legend among these, which provides the religious account of the history of the temple across various yugas. This place had also been mentioned in many Puranas.
Legend of Venkateshvara
Sri Vaishnava tradition says that the Rig Veda verse X.155.1 makes an indirect reference to the temple. One such translation goes as:The Sangam literature such as that of Silapadikaram and Satanar Manimekalai, dated between 500BC and 300AD, mentions Thiruvengadam by the appellation "Nediyon Kunram" as the northernmost frontier of the Tamil kingdoms. In fact, a fairly detailed description of the deity is given in lines 41 to 51 of Book 11 of the Silapadikaram.
Thondaiman, ruler of Thondaimandalam, is believed to have first built the temple after visualizing Vishnu in his dream. He built the Gopuram and the Prakhara, and arranged for regular prayers to be conducted in the temple.
Later on, the Chola dynasty vastly improved the temple and gave rich endowments. The various scripts are still seen inscribed upon the temple prakara walls.