GUNTUR: Devotees made a beeline to the Police Parade Grounds in the city Thursday to witness ‘Tiruppavada Seva’ and also have ‘Netra Darshan’ of Lord Venkateswara during the ongoing ‘Venkateswara Vaibhavotsavam’.
In Tirumala, after the morning pooja every Thursday, the ‘Mula Virat’ is divested of all ornaments and flowers and then draped only in ‘Dhoti’ and ‘Uttareeyam’. The ‘Thiru-naman Kaappu’ and ‘Kasturi’ on the forehead of the deity are also reduced in size. This results in the unique posture of the Lord where one can witness the peculiar ‘Netra Darshan’ (the divine eyes of the deity). During the other days, the wide ‘Namam’ that adorns the Lord’s forehead covers almost half of His eyes.
On Thursdays, in Tirumala, ‘Thiruppavada Seva’ is performed as ‘Arjitha Seva’ in the Mandapam in front of the Bangaru Vakili and Annakutotsavam (where heaps of tamarind rice is poured). The same has been replicated by archakas in Guntur Thursday, which caught the attention of tens of thousands of devotees at the venue.