Why no one from this Telangana village ever visits Tirupati temple

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In the Telangana village of Maldakal, no one visits the Tirupati temple not due to a lack of devotion, but because of a strong local belief.

According to The Times of India, In Maldakal, a village in Jogulamba Gadwal district with a population of just 8,355, not a single person visits the Tirumala temple due to a deeply held belief that it would bring misfortune. Instead, the villagers worship their local deity, Sri Swayambhu Lakshmi Venkateswara Swamy, known as Thimmappa, believing he is the first manifestation of Lord Venkateswara.

"Our village name comes from the Kannada words 'modali' and 'kallu', which translate to 'first stone'. We believe that Lord Venkateswara set his first foot in Maldakal and the next one in Tirupati. That's why no one from our village went to Tirupati for generations," Koneti Pujari Maldakal was quoted by TOI as saying, adding that even puranas support this belief.

The 30-year-old said people in the village firmly believe those who visit Tirumala face setbacks, the report added. "Some of our elders went there in the past without believing what their ancestors said. But all of them faced some issue - an accident, illness, or unexpected loss. Now, no one dares to go," he added.

Another resident, Govindappa, echoed the same sentiment. "It doesn't make sense for us to travel elsewhere to pray to Lord Balaji, as the god himself came here for us. We have a 'swayambhu' (self-manifested) idol of Venkateswara right here. From my grandfather's time, or maybe even before, none from our family went to Tirumala," the 41-year-old was quoted by TOI.

As per the report, the Maldakal temple houses swayambhu idols of five deities —Anantha Padmanabha Swamy, Venkateswara Swamy, Goddess Lakshmi Devi, Varaha Swamy, and Anjaneya Swamy. Lord Shiva is regarded as the 'Kshetra Palaka' (guardian deity) of the temple. Both Boya and Brahmin priests perform rituals here.

While Telugu-speaking devotees worship the deity as Thimmappa, people from Karnataka refer to him as Maldakal Rayudu, the report added. The annual Thimmappa Jatara, held in Dec, attracts lakhs of devotees from Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

"This is a very unique temple. One can get darshan of Lord Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara at the same place. This is an Adi Shila Kshetram. We also call it Girishachalam and Rudrachalam. Pallaki Seva is performed every day," Ravi Acharyulu, a temple priest, was quoted by TOI.