Archana
On completion of Thomala Seva, Archana or Sahasranamarchana (1000 Name Recital) is performed to the main
deity Lord Venkateswara amidst chanting of his one thousand names. After the recital, blessings are obtained from
the Lord for the whole world as saying the name and gotram of each the ticket holders would make it a lengthy
process as there would be about 200 Seva karthas every day. The entire ritual lasts for 30 minutes. Archana is then
performed to Vaksha Sthala Lakshmi Thayar in Ekantham, with a curtain drawn over the sanctum.
Unlike other Vaishnava temples, the sahasranamarchana invoked is not the well known Vishnu Sahasranama but Sri
Venkateswara Sahasaranama which is unique and recited to the Lord only in Tirumala. While the origin date of the
seva is not known, an inscription from 1518 A.D. is the earliest recorded instance where sahasranamarchana is
mentioned.
Lord Venkateswara receives the second and third archanas in ekantam later in the day. Archana is an arjita seva on
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and is performed in ekantam on other days. Each ticket allows one person and 2
small Laddus are offered as prasadam for this arjita seva.
In tirumala it is very difficult to state the name and gothram of every sevakartha, as there would be some 1000
people who participate, so the gotram is not read. Instead the Lord's blessings is sought for the welfare of the whole
world.
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