Change of deities:

According to the agamas, the main shrine in the temple should have five icons — the immovable moola murthy, the processional deity (utsavar), the Kautuka, Snapana and Balibera. According to traditional accounts the then utsavamurthy, worshipped under the name Vengadathuraivar, had certain flaws which lessened the glory of the moolamurthy Srinivasa and had an ill-effect on the growth of the township. Sri Ramanuja had this icon installed as the Kauthukamurthy and the icon then wor­shipped as Kauthuka, by name Malayappa Swami, in­stalled as utsavar, with due agamic rites. It may be men­tioned that only the utsava deity comes out of the temple and graces the township and the people. The present prac­tice in Tirumala is that the former utsava icon, now called “Ugra Srinivasa” comes out in procession on a few days in the year before sunrise.