VIJAYAWADA: The three-day annual Shakambari festivities started on a grand note at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanams (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri on Saturday. The festival will conclude on July 3. Devotees from various places in the State thronged the temple and offered special prayers to Durga Devi, adorned in the avatar of Shakambari Devi.
It is estimated that around 20,000 devotees took the blessings of the Goddess Kanaka Durga. Every year, Goddess Kanaka Durga is adorned as Shakambari Devi, decorated with around 8 tonnes of fresh fruits and vegetables. Devotees believe that worshipping Goddess Shakambari will bring rain and abundant crop yield.
As part of the festivities, the entire temple including the sanctum sanctorum and presiding deity is decorated with all varieties of vegetables and fruits and devotees worshipped the presiding deity in the avatar of Shakambari Devi.
Around 7:30 am, temple head priests performed traditional rituals such as ‘Vigneswara puja’, ‘Punyavachanam’, ‘Akhanda Deeparadhana’, ‘Ankurarpanam’, ‘Vastu Homam’ and ‘Kalasa Sthapana’, marking the start of the festivities.
For the devotees standing in long queues, temple executive officer Darbamulla Bramarambha supervised the arrangement of drinking water and other refreshments.
Addressing the media, temple executive officer (EO) Darbamulla Bramarambha said the Shakambari Devi festival is a special occasion for transforming the presiding deity Goddess Kanaka Durga into Shakambari Devi in Ashada Masam of Telugu calendar and devotees offer prayers to propitiate the Goddess for abundant rains, good harvest and plentiful yield of vegetables.
She further said ‘Saptashati’ and ‘Mahavidya’ recitations along with homam will be performed on the second day of the festivities.