ORIGIN: Hindu (Epic and Puranic)
TYPE: Form of the god Visnu
INFORMATION: According to the Aditya Purana, Venkata is a deity of considerable importance in southern India. The name does not occur in the north. He is worshiped extensively by Hindus but particularly in the Tamil shrine of Tirupati whre there is argument that the deity depicted is Siva or Karttikeya. The image appears to carry attributes of Visnu on the left and Siva on the right. Also Venkatesa.