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CH. XXTI. TIKUPATI-GOD—VISHNU OR SIVA? 143
Vai'^linava ones, such as the Discus and the golden girdle,
the Saint
and
expressed his wonderment at Vishnu having- chosen
to appear to him in this dual character of Hari-IIarn, or
Visliiiu-Siva.' On the authority of this rerse, in all prohability,
the Saivas made an attempt to claim Tirnpati as their
own exclusive Saiva Shrine ; but EamElnuja contended it was
Vaishnava, but the Saivas would not give in. Ramanuja
i:iroposed that both Saiva and Vaishnava emblems, such
as Trisilla and Damaruka, and OhaJcra and SanTcha, be
placed in front of VenkateSa's Image in the sanctum saneforum,
and the doors be closed and securely locked, after
carefully examining the chamber that no one lay hidden there ;
and the character of the Deity might be determined by the
choice of the emblems made by Him. This test was gladly
agreed to by all. The emblems were accordingly prepared and
placed before the Image. Next day, both the parties came in
a body with eager expectations of their own opinion being
realized. But when the doors were thrown open in full day -light
and in the presence of the whole assembly, it was found that
the Lord had assumed the Vaishnava-emblems, with the Saiva
emblems lying unused on the floor. E8.ma,nuja's joy knew no
bounds. He sang and danced, eyes streaming with tears of
delight at the miraculous event and the Beatific Vision presented
to his view. The Saivas were thus ousted.'.
I
Read verse 63 of 3rd Tfruv- phist to Government [1903-
andadi : " Tazh-Sadaiyum, &c." 1904 A-C ]
Narayana includes Siva. In N&ra- The Epigraphist has meanwhile
yana's (or Vishnn's) body, a, place inferred from a sot of very dubious
is assigned to Siva in the same conclusions as to the mined temple
manner as his navel is assigned to and TirnehchSiniir, that Tirnpati
tlie four-faced BrahmS,, and his temple was perhaps originally
bosom to Sri or Lakshml (Logos). Saiva in character. From the fact
Head Bhagavad-G£taxi-15. Pas!/(i)jw', that the temple is mentioned in
4'c.,and numerous other authorities, the inscriptions as Itaugoyil and
So then this dual appearance proved that the same word is nsed in the
Vishnu, not Siva exclusively, as Saiva Periyapitrdnam and in another
Saivas thought. inscription as the name of a temple
which must certainly have been
* A piece of Epigraphic Infer- Saiva and that another inscription
mation is here annexed (or tlie use says that the temple now in ruins
of our readers :
was bnilt as an accompaniment to
"We have received this year a very the shrine at Tirnpati, he first ininteresting
report from the Epigra- fers that the Tiruchchanur temple