Why Tirupati Balaji Temple's Laddus Are Special: Know Their History and Preparation Process
For the past few days, the world-famous Hindu holy temple Tirupati Balaji has been in the headlines. Thousands of people visit this temple every day, located in the hill town of Tirumala in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh state. This temple is dedicated to Venkateshwara, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
A special kind of laddu is offered as ‘prasadam’ in this temple. Let us know why the laddu of Tirupati Balaji temple is in controversy, its history, its specialty and how it is prepared.
The controversy over Tirupati Balaji temple’s Laddu
Recently, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu claimed that during the previous government, animal fat was added to make laddus. After the controversy escalated, the laddu was investigated in the CM's claims were proved true. This has not only heated the politics there but has also hurt the faith of crores of devotees around the world. These laddus are distributed among the devotees as prasadam as well as offered to God.
History of Tirupati Balaji’s Laddu
This divine prasad was first offered to Lord Venkatesh on August 2, 1715. Since then, its form has been changed 6 times and the current form of laddu that we see today was determined in 1940 during the Madras government. However, this sweet has also been mentioned in the ancient inscriptions of Tirupati in 1480 by the name 'Manoharam'.
The credit for making Tirupati Laddu famous goes to Kalyanam Iyengar. Iyengar made Laddu synonymous with Tirupati and under his leadership, it was delivered to millions of devotees as a divine prasadam. He was the chief priest of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) in the 1940s. Iyengar was also known for his social service and welfare work. Politician Chakravarti Rajagopalachari gave him the name 'Kalyanam Iyengar' because he donated his wedding jewelry and clothes to the poor.
Where is the special laddu prepared?
This laddu is made in the kitchen of the temple. This kitchen is called 'Potu'. Let us tell you that this laddu has also got GI tag (Geographical Indication). In such a situation, the patent for making this laddu is only with Tirupati Balaji temple. According to the information, more than 8 lakh laddus are prepared here every day. It is believed that the darshan of Tirupati Balaji is incomplete without taking this laddu as prasad.
Types of Laddus
Proktam Laddus- This laddu is small in size and is regularly distributed to the pilgrims visiting the temple. The weight of one laddu is about 40 grams. After completing the darshan and coming out of the temple, these laddus are given free to everyone as prasad.
Asthanam Laddus- This laddu is made on special festivals, its size is slightly larger than Proktam Laddus. One laddu weighs 175 grams and costs Rs 50. Mostly almonds, cashews and saffron are used to make it.
Kalyanotsavam Laddus- These laddus are distributed to pilgrims participating in Arjitha Seva and Kalyanotsavam. This laddu has the highest demand. However, it is made in lesser numbers than other laddus. The shelf life of this laddu is 15 days and it is also the most expensive. One laddu weighs about 750 grams, which costs Rs 200.
How are these laddus made?
More than 600 cooks work in the Potu kitchen to make this special laddu. These laddus are made with a special method. Various types of dry fruits like cashews, almonds, raisins, cardamom, sugar candy, gram flour, pure ghee, milk etc. are added to it. According to reports, 700 kg of cashew nuts, 10 tones of gram flour, 3 to 4 hundred litres of ghee, 10 tonnes of sugar, about 540 kg of raisins etc. are required every day to make laddus.
