Temple Darshan, Pooja and Sevas Information Infoirmation Website Sri Venkateswara Namam History and Process followed.
Lord Venkateswara of Tirumala appears with a broad, white ‘karpoora namam‘ (Camphor Symbol on the forehead). During the darshan after ‘Pulangi Seva‘ on Thursdays the size of namam is reduced considerably, and during the Friday morning ‘abhisheka seva‘ (Sacred bath), the Lord appears without the namam. Devotees then have what is called ‘ Netra Darshanam ‘ and ‘ nija pada darshanam ‘ ( Opportunity to see the eyes and the feet of the Lord.
This ‘namam’ seeks to combine the traditions of the two ‘ Vaishnavite‘ sects (‘vadagalai and ‘tengalai‘). It is neither in ‘Y’ shape nor ‘U’ Shape but a combination of both.
The ‘namam’ carries ‘Kasturi Tilakam’ in its middle portion. The application of the ‘ karpura namam‘ as a combination of ‘Y’ and ‘U’ Shapes is a skillful operation. Once applied, on Friday morning the ‘namam‘ has to last a week until the next ‘abhishekam‘ .
Devotees used to decorate their foreheads with namam which is similar to Sri Venkateswara Namam before going to darshan.