TIRUPATI: Thousands of devotees offered special prayers to Lord Shiva during the auspicious Lingodbhava Darshan in the early hours of Monday, marking Maha Shivaratri.
Heavy crowds were reported across Tirupati, Chittoor, and Annamayya districts at prominent Saiva kshetrams, including Srikalahasteeswara Temple, Talakona, Mogili, Gudimallam Parasurameswara Temple, Mallapakonda, and Kapileswara Swamy Temple.
Additional police forces were deployed to manage the influx of devotees, with security arrangements maintained through out the night.
Tirupati District Collector S Venkateswarlu, SP L Subbarayudu, Srikalahasti MLA Bojjala Sudheer Reddy, Devasthanam Chairman Kotte Saiprasad, EO T Bapi Reddy, and other senior officials supervised the arrangements on-site.
Religious and cultural programmes continued throughout the night, with Anna Prasadam, hot milk, and drinking water distributed to devotees. The district administration reported that the Lingodbhava Darshan concluded peacefully without incident.
As part of the Maha Shivaratri Brahmotsavams, the traditional chariot festival of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi was held on Monday morning. The procession, conducted along the Raja Veedhulu from 10:30 am to 1 pm, drew thousands of participants chanting “Om Namah Shivaya.”
Temple trust members, priests, and several dignitaries joined the event, which concluded the celebrations with grandeur and devotion.