Sri Venkateswara’s Chakrasnanam: Its Spiritual Significance

The annual Salakatla Brahmotsavams of Lord Venkateswara are being celebrated grandly in Tirumala and are nearing their conclusion. On the final day, Wednesday, September 23, the sacred Chakrasnanam will be performed at the Varaha Pushkarini between 6 am and 9 am, coinciding with Shravana Nakshatra, regarded as the birth star of the presiding deity. The nine-day festival, during which Lord Srinivasa blesses devotees through various vahana processions, concludes with this ritual on the ninth morning. According to religious tradition, the concluding sacred bath performed after a yajna is known as Avabhritha Snanam, and Chakrasnanam marks the completion of the Brahmotsavam ritual.

According to Puranic accounts, Lord Vishnu travelled to Kashi on Kartika Shukla Chaturdashi, bathed at Manikarnika Ghat and resolved to worship Lord Shiva with a thousand golden lotus flowers. As the story goes, Shiva removed one flower to test Vishnu’s devotion. Unable to find the missing lotus, Vishnu prepared to offer his lotus-like eye in its place. Pleased with his devotion, Shiva appeared before him and presented the Sudarshana Chakra, describing it as a powerful weapon capable of destroying demons. In the Vaishnava tradition, the Sudarshana Chakra is also worshipped as Chakrathalwar. Religious accounts say that the celestial Viraja River descended from Vaikuntha and became Swami Pushkarini in Tirumala, and that sacred waters from the three worlds converge there. Tradition also holds that Subrahmanya Swamy bathed in the Pushkarini to be freed from the sin of Brahmahatya, as described in the Skanda Purana.

Before Chakrasnanam, Snapana Tirumanjanam is performed for the Lord, his consorts and Chakrathalwar according to Agama traditions. The rites include Vishwaksena worship, Punyahavachanam, offerings of incense, lamps and food, royal honours, and ritual bathing with milk, curd, honey, coconut water, turmeric and sandalwood. The ceremony also includes Shankhanidhi, Padmanidhi, Sahasradhara and Kumbhadharana in accordance with the Vaikhanasa Agama tradition. Following these rituals, Chakrathalwar is ceremonially bathed in the Pushkarini amid devotees chanting the name of Govinda. Large numbers of devotees then take a holy dip in the tank. Traditional belief holds that witnessing Chakrasnanam brings prosperity, spiritual merit and ultimately liberation.