Venkateshwara
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In Hinduism, Venkateshwara (also spelled Venkateswara, Venkateshwer or Venkatachalapathi) is a much-worshipped form of the god Vishnu.
He is also known as Balaji and as Bithala.
Story:
(Please note that I have knowledge of Venkateshwara, but I do not have knowledge of how to write pages in BambooWeb. Some else please format what I write and style it like a BambooWeb page)
This story is very odd because it comments on other stories in a way that is not mentioned in those stories.
The greatest sages in the world gathered together for the purpose of a yagna, or fire-sacrifice.
Whoever they did this sacrifice to would become the most powerful god in the world. The sages debated and argued on which god the yagna should be done to. Finally, they narrowed it down to the choices of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. They asked Sage Brighu to go and test the three gods to see which one would be most worthy. They chose Brighu for because of his temper, any anomaly in a god's virtue would be spotted immediately by him. Brighu first went to Brahma in Mt. Meru. However, Brahma was too busy talking to his wife Saraswati that he didn't notice Brighu. For this, Brighu cursed Brahma that he would not be worshipped anymore. Then, Brahma went to Shiva in Mt. Kailas. However Shiva was too busy meditating. So Brighu cused Shiva that he could only be worshipped in the form of a Lingam. Then Brighu went to Vishnu, who lies down on the snake Seshnag, who in turn lies down in an ocean of milk called Thirupalkadal. Vishnu, howver, was sleeping when Brighu arrived. Because Brighu could not handle his temper anymore, he kicked Vishnu in the stomach. Vishnu woke up and started massaging Brighu foot and saying, "I am sorry Brighu, for any footache kicking my stomach has caused you. Does foot hurt at all?" Brigu, amazed at Vishnu's magnanimity, chose Vishnu to dedicate the Yagna to. Meanwhile, Lakshmi was very angry that Vishnu massaged someone who kicked her, because Lakshmi lives in Vishnu's stomach, so out of anger she went to the earth. On earth,
