VIJAYAWADA: The conferment of the annual Bhavani deeksha began on a dull note at the Kanaka Durga temple atop Indrakeeladri here on Wednesday. The number of people who took the deeksha was low on the first day even as some of the devotees reached the temple chanting different names of the goddess.
Clad in red robes, devotees in small numbers reached the Mallikharjuna Maha Mandapam to take deeksha. Due to the pandemic, the authorities prevented them from taking a holy dip in the Krishna at the Durga Ghat. Temple executive officer MV Suresh Babu said the rituals began after priests performed vigneshwara pooja, kalasa sthapana and Punyavachanam indicating the beginning of the 41-day Bhavani deeksha.
The rituals began at 8 am and continued for over two hours. Those who took the 21-day deeksha on Wednesday will have to relinquish it between December 15 and 19, while those who took the 41-day deeksha will have to relinquish it between January 5 and 9, he said, adding that the priests will confer deekshas to the devotees from Karthika Suddha Ekadasi to Purnima (November 30).
The Bhavani kalasa jyothi will be organised on November 29. “We expect the devotees’ turnout to be around one lakh against six to seven lakh who thronged the Indrakeeladri to relinquish their deeksha last year. The devasthanam has also made available offline darshan tickets for the ease of devotees. Wearing masks is mandatory and physical distance should be maintained in queue lines,” Suresh Babu added.