Ananthacharya, a great devotee of the Bhagavan Venkateswara started offering flower garlands to Bhagavan as seva, as per the instructions of his Guru Sri Ramanujacharya. He started created a flower garden along with his wife to get sufficient quantities of flowers. The devoted couple had to toil very hard to get the required flowers.
His wife though pregnant undertook the hard labour for the seva of Srihari very happily. Pleased with the hard work of the devoted couple, Bhagavan Venkateswara wanted to help them. But Ananthacharya did not want anybody’s help for the work related to his flower garden as he did not want to share his service to Bhagavan with anyone else.
One day when the wife of Ananthacharya felt extremely tired while she was carrying a basket of mud, a smart and handsome boy came from nowhere and started helping her. With his help she completed the job early. Seeing this, Ananthacharya enquired as to how she was able to accomplish the job quickly. She replied that she took the help of a boy.
But Ananthacharya did not want the help. But the boy was adamant and kept on nagging them. Out of sheer frustration and anger Ananthacharya unknowingly threw the shovel he was carrying at the boy.
The rod stuck the boy on his chin and the chin started bleeding profusely. Ananthacharya immediately understood the mistake, but before he could apologise, the boy vanished from his sight.
Ananthacharya then took the usual colourful and aromatic garlands to decorate the Venkateswara. But he almost fainted with sight of blood oozing from the chin of Venkateswara – at the same spot where the young boy was hit by him. In a state of absolute shock and disbelief, he needed to stop the flow of blood. The age old method of rubbing cooking camphor on the wounds and cuts was used by him on the chin of the Bhagavan. And to the shock and surprise, the bleeding stopped! Ever since, the murti of the Bhagavan is adorned with cooking camphor on the chin. To show His love for His dedicated devotees, Bhagavan instructed that the shovel with which He was stuck be hung in the middle of the mandapam.