Post ‘Sthala puranam’

K.Uma Rama Rao’srecent work was on Tarigonda Vengamamba. She chose Vengamamba’s Sri Veeralakshmi Vilasa Vaibhavam and adapted it into Telugu prosaic form for readers to understand the narrative woven around Maha Lakshmi, consort of Maha Vishnu. The book was recently released at Telugu University auditorium by C. Narayana Reddy.

Generally in the much known ‘Sthala Purana’ of Lord Venkateswara, not much is known about what happened to Mahalakshmi and how the celestial couple rejoin. This was the subject that Tarigonda Vengamamba wrote in this chapter of Veeralakshmi Vilasa Vaibhavam.

It was sojourn of Lakshmi from Vaikuntham down to Kolhapuri, from there to the Ashram of Kapilamuni to keep herself away from her Lord. Then sage Kapila after coming to know of the reasons why she left Vaikuntam, tells Lakshmi that Bhrugu Maharshi was none other than Vishnu’s grandson and blames Lakshmi for needlessly parting from her Lord.

There at Tirumala, newly wed wife Padmavati asks Vishnu for reasons why he is away from Lakshmi. The Lord narrates the whole story why he descended to Tirumala. Padmavati then asks Venkateswara to go and fetch her to Tirumala, assuring that she would never be jealous and would serve both of them.

Meanwhile worried Srinivasa goes to Kolhapuri in search of his consort, sits on hills and starts doing penance. On advice of a voice from above he gets back to Tirumala and plants a golden lotus.in the lake in Tirumala. On knowing this, Kapila Muni advises Lakshmi to enter into that flower. Lakshmi repents and does exactly that. Srinivasa then accepts her into his heart.

This book is printed on art paper with many pictures of Gods like Narasimha, Venkateswara and the scene depicting ‘Padmavati kalyanam’, ‘Mahalakshmi and Vishnu’ and Tarigonda Vengamamba Samadhi built in1817. This book is worth reading by devotees to know the later part of the ‘Sthala Puranam’.