--> Skip to main content


Story Of Unique Devotion Of Vengamamba And Venkateswara

 Vengamamba, a widow, was an ardent devotee of Venkateswara. Her unique devotion was so powerful that the chariot of Bhagavan Venkateswara stopped before her house and it only moved after she performed aarti to Bhagavan.

There was a great bustle in the main street at Tirumala. All the devotees in the street are chanting Govinda! Govinda! They were pulling the chariot of Venkateswara through the mada streets.

Devotees were offering aarti to the moving chariot. But suddenly the chariot could not be pulled. Even with numerous devotees coming together, the chariot did not budge.

‘It is not possible for them to move it. It has stopped here. I doubt that we have committed some mistake. Otherwise, it won’t stop here’, said one of the priests to the leader of the main priest.

The main priest asked more devotees to join in pulling the chariot but it did not move even a single bit.

The chariot had stopped before the house of Vengamamba.

The main priest then realized that Bhagavan wanted Vengamamba aarti. But she had not come out of her house. The other priests doubted the main priest and told him that they do not think that the chariot stopped for the aarti of widow Vengamamba.

The main priest then asked his disciples to invite Vengamamba to perform muthyala harathi.

Tapping her door, the disciples called: ‘Oh! Mother! Vengamamba. ‘Mother, bring ‘Muthyala harathi’ and give it to Bhagavan and make the chariot move from this place’.

‘I am a woman and also a widow. If I give ‘aarti’ to Bhagavan, some people may object. They may not like it’. The main priest told her that everything is Bhagavan and He never discriminates.

Then she gave aarti praising Bhagavan. Soon the chariot started moving on its own.

The main priest then told Vengamamba, Mother! You are unique in your devotion. There is nobody who is equal to you in the world. The world has known the greatness of your magnificent ‘Mutyala Harathi.’ Hereafter, during the ‘Ekanta Seva’, please give the ‘Mutyala harathi’ to Bhagavan.