According to Brahma Purana and Skanda Purana, there are about 66 crore holy teerthams on the green cover of Seshachala. From that age, till today the holy teerthams of Tirumala have been famous for their sacredness and divinity.
Almost all the sacred water bodies hold fantastic legends and stories of salvation. In fact, these legends are the driving force that led millions and millions of pilgrims to this temple town each day for ages.
However, these sacred torrents are classified into Dharmaratiprada, Gnanaprada, Bhaktivairagyaprada and Muktiprada teerthams.
DHARMARATIPRADA TEERTHAMS: The holy dip in these theerthams will transform the person to lead a moral life combined with spiritual discipline which is the very foundation to get salvation. As per the Puranas there are about 1008 holy torrents under this category.
GNANAPRADA TEERTHAMS: Man is on the quest to get the best for himself. Jnana is the path of knowledge, wisdom, introspection and contemplation. It involves deep exploration of the nature of our being by systematically traversing and setting aside false identities. A dip in the Gnanaprada teerthams is believed to give this path of wisdom to pilgrims.
These are 108 in number. They are: Manu, Indra, Vasu, Rudra(11 in number), Aditya(12 in number), Prajapati(9 in number), Aswini, Sukra, Varuna, Jahnavi, Kapeya, Kanwa, Agneya, Narada, Soma, Bhargava, Dharma, Yagna, Pasu, Ganeshwara, Bhaumaswa, Paribhadra, Jagajadyahara, Viswakallola, Yama, Baraspatya, Kamaharsha, Ajamoda, Janeshwara, Instasiddhi, Karmasiddhi, Vata, Jedumbara, Karthikeya, Kubja, Prachetasa(10 in number), Garuda, Sesha, Vasuki, Vishnuvardhana, Karmakanda, Punyavriddhi, Runavimochana, Parjanya, Megha, Sankarshana, Vasudeva, Narayana, Deva, Yaksha, Kala, Gomukha, Pradymna, Aniruddha, Pitru, Arsheya, Vaishwadeva, Swadha, Swaha, Asti, Anjaneya, Suddhodaka, Astha Bhairava(8 in number). All put together 108 teerthams.
BHAKTI-VAIRAGYA PRADA TEERTHAMS: Puranas elucidates that a dip in these sacred teerthams will provide renunciation from the materialistic way of life and leads to Bhakti yoga. These torrents are 68 in number. Chakra, Vajra, Vishwaksena, Panchayudha, Halayuda, Narasimha, Kasyapa, Manmadha, Brahma, Agni, Gautami, Daiva, Devam, Viswamitra, Bhargava, Astavakra, Durarohana, Bhairava, Meha, Pandava, Vayu, Asti, Markandeya, Jabali, Valabhilya, Jwarahara, Vishahara, Lakshmi, Rushi, Shatananda, Suteekshaka, Vaibhandaka, Bilwa, Vishnu, Salva, Sarabha, Brahma, Indra, Bharadwaja, Akasaganga, Prachetana, Papavinasana, Saraswatha, Kumaradhara, Gaja, Rushyasringa, Tumburu, Dasavatara(10 in number by the name of different avataras of Lord Vishnu), Halayudhi, Saptarshi(7 in number after the name of saptarshi), Gajakona, Yudhasarasti.
MUKTIPRADA TEERTHAMS: Mukti means liberation of the senses from the clutches of the mind. It is enlightenment or a state of self-realization of the soul through Bhakti. A holy bath in the Muktiprada teerthams gives us salvation. They are seven in number and considered to be the holiest among all the 66crore teerthams as they are quite feasible to the public.
Even today, among these Seven torrents, TTD observes the annual festival for three in a grand manner.
Swamy Pushkarini-As per the temple legend Swami Pushkarini was originally in Vaikuntam and belonged to Sri Maha Vishnu. It was set on Earth by Garuda, as a sporting spot upon the instructions of Sri Venkateswara Swamy in Kaliyuga. It is located adjacent to the Sri Venkateswara temple.
As the 66crore teerthams are not visible and feasible to take bath, it is believed that one holy dip in Swamy Pushkarini is equal to having taken bath in all these teerthams.
For this sacred teertham, Mukkoti Dwadasi, the twelfth fortnight of Dhanurmasa is considered to be auspicious. TTD observed Chakra Snanam on this important occasion in Swamy Pushkarini Theertham.
Gogarbham or Pandava Teertham: Suddha Dwadasi Sunday in Vrishabha month or Bahula Dwadasi day falling on Tuesday is considered auspicious for this torrent. Today, Gogarbham serves as the chief source of water in Tirumala.
Papavinasanam: Sunday with Sapthami Tidhi in Aswayuja Month or Dwadasi day in the advent of the star Uttarabhadra is considered auspicious for this torrent festival.
Akasaganga: The full moon day in the month of Mesha with Chitra Nakshatra is believed sacred.
Tumburu: Tumburu Theertha Mukkoti which usually occurs in the month of March or April is observed in a grand manner by TTD every year. Over 25thousand pilgrims trek this torrent path and take holy baths. The full moon day in the month of Meena(Pisces) with Uttara Phalguni Nakshatra is considered auspicious
Kumaradhara: The day of Magha Pornami in the month of Kumbha is considered to be auspicious for taking bath in this teertham.
Ramakrishna: It occurs on the full moon day in the month of Makara(capricorn). For Ramakrishna Theertha mukkoti also pilgrims trek the hilly path and take bath every year.
Pilgrims visiting Tirumala make it a practice of taking their bath in these sacred torrents on the belief that it would wipe out all their sinful deeds.
