VIJAYAWAD: Bezawada Kanakadurgamma, the presiding deity of Indrakeeladri on the banks of the Krishna in Vijayawada, is believed to be a goddess of blessings.
She keep evil away. The nineday Sarannavaratri celebrations at the temple attract lakhs of devotees from all over the country.
The presiding deity assumes different forms on the nine days to bless her devotees. On the first day of the Dasara celebration, the deity greets devotees in the form of Swarnakavachalankruta Kanakadurga Devi.
On subsequent days she takes the form of Balatripurasundari Devi, Gayatridevi, Annapurnadevi, Lalitatripurasundaridevi, Mahalakshmidevi, Saraswati Devi, Durga Devi and Mahisasuramardani.
At the conclusion of the navaratri celebrations, the deity is decorated in the form of Sri Rajarajeswari Devi.
On the first day of the Dasara festival period, vedic pundits led by chief priest Lingambhotla Chandrasekhara Sarma performs the Lalita Sahasranamam along with 40 purohits. During the nineday festival, Moola Nakshatram, on which day the presiding deity appears in the form of Saraswati Devi, draws lakhs of devotees. Local people visit the temple on Moola Nakshatram to get the blessings of goddess Saraswati Devi.
The temple is opened for darshan at 3 am daily throughout the Dasara festival and closed around 11 pm. Temple priest Badrinath Babu decorates the deity in different alankarams daily after the closure of the temple.
It is a ritual in Vijayawada for the police to offer prayers to goddess Kanakadurga by participating in the puja first.
Policemen carry the palanquin of Durga and Malleswara Swamy on the inaugural day of the Dasara celebrations.
The idols are taken out from the temple in a procession by policemen and purohits and installed at Bhavani mandapam near the temple where the Laksha Kumkumarchana is performed daily.
On the concluding day, the Teppotsavam is organized in which the processional idols are taken on a swanboat ride in the Krishna. Thousands of devotees throng on either side of the river to see the event. After the conclusion of the Teppotsavam, the police march with the idols of presiding deity up to Jammidoddi, where they perform Shami puja.
From there they take the idols to the One Town police station where they perform pujas by submitting all their weapons.
They present new clothes to the goddess. In the early hours of the next day, they bring back the idols to the Kanakadurga temple in a huge procession marking the conclusion of the Dasara festival.