TIRUMALA: Splendour marked the Rathotsavam at the temple of Lord Venkateswara here on Monday, the penultimate day of the nine-day annual Brahmotsavams.The processional deities of Lord Malayappa flanked by his two divine consorts on his either side were ceremoniously mounted atop the giant wooden chariot amidst chanting of Vedic hymns by the temple pundits.
Tens of thousands of devotees from different parts of the country participated in the divine procession. Devotees congregated all along the mada streets through which the procession passed by. The chariot was tastefully decorated with different varieties of flowers, flags and festoons. As is customary, the golden umbrella was tied atop the mammoth chariot. The chanting of ‘Govinda’ ‘Govinda’ by the devotees filled the air.
The chariot rolled majestically down the thoroughfares of the hill temple preceded by temple paraphernalia, including half-a-dozen caparisoned elephants, horses, bulls, cultural and bhajan troops besides a contingent of Vedic pundits led by the priests of the temple.
As the congregation was huge, the temple management facilitated the chariot movement at a slow pace for the convenience of the devotees. While the engineering staff manoeuvred the movement of the chariot, the district police, along with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams vigilance and security personnel, managed the crowd.
Later in the evening, the procession of Aswa Vahanam was organised marking the conclusion of vahana sevas. TTD EO Anil Kumar Singhal, AEO AV Dharma Reddy, CVSO Gopinath Jatti, ACVO Sivakumar Reddy, temple deputy EO Harindranath, Peishkar Lokanadham and others took part.
Six Lakh devotees had Lord’s darshan in seven days
Tirumala: As many as 6.02 lakh devotees had darshan of Lord Venkateswara in the last seven days at Tirumala, temple deputy EO Harindranath has said. Speaking at the media centre here on Monday, he informed that they had cancelled VIP break darshan, `300 special darshan, Arjitha Sevas and privilege darshans to facilitate more number of devotees to have darshan of Lord. The deputy EO informed that the temple hundi netted `17.97 crore during Brahmotsavams. He stated that they have kept a buffer stock of 8.5 lakh laddus, adding that 30.15 lakh laddus have been sold in the last seven days. TTD PRO Dr. T Ravi, Potu Peishkar Srinivasulu and other senior officials were present.
Festive look
The temple town wore a festive look
The day began with the pre-dawn rituals inside the hill temple
Soon after the abhishekam to the presiding deity, the authorities organised the procession of Utsava deities to the Ratha Mandapam
Chanting of Govinda namam by the devotees rent the air