VIJAYAWADA: More than one lakh devotees from various places thronged Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri during the three-day Shakambari festivities which concluded on Monday.
As a part of the tradition, priests performed Poornahuti and other rituals marking the conclusion of the festival. The Vedic committee members and priests of the temple performed Saptasati Havana, Mahavidya Parayana and Santhi Poushtika Homam. Later, Poornahuti, Kooshmanda Bali, Kalasodvasana and other rituals were performed.
The three-day annual festivities started on July 1, and attracted huge crowds on the second and third day with more devotees visiting the temple and offering special prayers to the presiding deity, who was adorned as Shakambari Devi, seeking her blessings.
Devotee turnout was significantly high on the third day, as the conclusion of the festival coincided with the auspicious Guru Purnima. Around 50,000 devotees reportedly visited the temple and sought the blessings of the presiding deity decorated with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Devotees, especially women, presented the traditional Aashadam Saare to the deity on the occasion of the auspicious Aashadam month.
Speaking to TNIE, the temple executive officer Darbamulla Bramarambha said the temple saw a footfall of more than one lakh devotees in the three days.
The sanctum sanctorum, temple premises and other sub-temples atop Indrakeeladri and downhill were decked up with vegetables and fruits on the last day of the festivities.
“We had made separate arrangements for devotees who offered Aashada Saare to the Goddess Durga and arranged alternate queue lines to avoid rush,” the EO said and anticipated that the pilgrim rush may continue for two more days.
On the other hand, the chairman of Srikalahasti temple Anjuri Srinivasulu along with the temple officials visited the Durga temple on Monday and presented traditional clothes to the Goddess Kanaka Durga on behalf of the temple as a part of the tradition.
A devotee from Mangalagiri town Bhogi Sanyasi Rao Jogeswara Rao and his family presented a necklace weighing 65 gram to the Goddess Kanaka Durga. Similarly, Omajaya Ekopasana Mahadharmam association conducted Guru Poornima celebrations at CNR Gardens in Kaikaluru town, where more than 1,000 devotees took part in the rituals.