Balaji Chalisa

Venkateswara,known as Śrinivasā Bālāji Veṅkaṭā & Veṅkaṭācalapati form of Vishnu

Once, some rishis headed by Kasyapa began to perform a sacrifice on the banks of the Ganges. Sage Narada visited them and asked them why they were performing the sacrifice and who would be pleased by it.The rishis approached Sage Bhrigu, who according to the Vedas, is believed to have an extra eye in the sole of his foot. At Satyaloka, he found Lord Brahma , with each of his four heads, and attended upon by Saraswati. Lord Brahma did not take notice of Bhrigu offering obeisance.

Finding that Lord Vishnu also did not notice him, the sage was infuriated and kicked the Lord on His chest. Vishnu, in an attempt to pacify the sage, got hold of the legs of the sage and started to press them gently in a way that was comforting to the sage.He squeezed the extra eye that was present in the sole of Bhrigu's foot.

Taking pity on Lord Vishnu, Brahma and Maheshwara decided to assume the forms of a cow and its calf to serve Him. Surya, the Sun god, informed Mahalakshmi of this and requested her to assume the form of a cowherdess and sell the cow and calf to king.At the palace, the cow was not yielding any milk, for which the Chola Queen chastised the cow herder severely. Angered by the conduct of the cow, the cow herder aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow.Lord Vishnu rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow.

The cow returned to the Chola King, found the cow herder lying dead on the ground near the ant-hill. Lord Vishnu rose from the ant-hill and cursed the king saying that he would become an Asura because of the fault of his servant. The king pleaded innocence, and the Lord blessed him that he will be reborn as Akasa Raja and that the curse would end when the Lord will be adorned with a crown presented by Akasa Raja at the time of his marriage with Padmavati. With these words, the Lord turned into stone.

Thereafter, Lord Vishnu decided to stay in Varaha Kshetra and requested Sri Varaha swami to grant his a site . Srinivasa ordained that a pilgrimage to his shrine would not be complete unless it is preceded by a bath in the Pushkarini and darshan of Sri Varaha swami and that pooja and naivedya.

A King named Akasa Raja came to rule over Tondamandalam. Akasha Raja had no heirs, and therefore, he wanted to perform a sacrifice.He was ploughing the fields when his plough turned up a lotus in the ground. On examining the lotus, the King found a female child in it. At that time he heard an aerial voice which said "O King, tend it as your child and fortune will befall you". As she was found in a lotus, the king named her Padmavati. She grew up as a princess into a beautiful maiden and was attended by a host of maids.

One day, Lord Srinivasa, who was hunting, chased a wild elephant in the forests surrounding the hills. In the elephant's pursuit, the Lord was led into a garden, where Princess Padmavati and her maids were picking flowers. The sight of the elephant frightened the Princess and her maids. Lord Srinivasa, who was following on horse back, saw the frightened maidens, but was repulsed with stones thrown at Him by the maids. He returned to the hills in haste, leaving His horse behind.

The Lord then narrated the story of Padmavati’s previous birth and His promise to marry her. After listening to Srinivasa's story of how he had promised to marry Vedavati in her next birth as Padmavati, Vakula Devi realized that Srinivasa would not be happy unless He married her. She offered to go to Akasha Raja and his queen and arrange for the marriage. On the way she met the maids of Padmavati returning from a Shiva Temple.

Meanwhile, Akasa Raja and his Queen Dharanidevi were anxious about the health of their daughter, Padmavati. They learnt about Padmavati's love for Srinivasa of Venkata Hill. Akasa Raja consulted Brihaspati about the marriage and was informed that the marriage was in the best interest of both the parties. Kubera lent money to Lord Srinivasa to meet the expenses of the marriage.