Srinivasa Kalyanam Story | Srinivasa Padmavathi Kalyanam

Venkateshwara Kalyanotsavam Tirumala Tirupati

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 the king of the Chola country. The king of the Chola country bought the cow and its calf and sent them to graze on the Venkata Hill along with his herd of cattle. Discovering Lord Vishnuon the ant-hill, the cow provided its milk, and thus fed the Lord.Meanwhile, at the palace, the cow was not yielding any milk, for which the Chola Queen chastised the cowherd severely.

To find out the cause of lack of milk, the cowherd followed the cow, hid himself behind a bush and discovered the cow emptying her udder over the ant-hill. Incensed over the conduct of the cow, the cowherd aimed a blow with his axe on the head of the cow. However,  Lord Vishnu rose from the ant-hill to receive the blow and save the cow. When the cowherd saw the Lord bleed at the blow of his axe, he fell down and died of shock.

On the death of the cowherd, the cow returned, bellowing in fright and with blood stains all over her body, to the Chola King. To find out the cause of the cow’s terror, the King followed her to the scene of the incident. The King found the cowherd lying dead on the ground near the ant-hill. While he stood wondering how it had happened, 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 by saying that the curse would end when the Lord was adorned with a kireetam presented by Akasa Raja at the time of His marriage with Sri Padmavati. Thereafter, Lord Vishnu or Srinivasa, decided to stay in Varaha Kshetra, and requested Sri Varahaswami to grant Him a site for His stay. His request being readily granted, 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 Varahaswami, and that puja and naivedyam should be offered to Sri Varahaswami first.