TIRUPATI: The annual Salakatla Brahmotsavams of Srivaru commenced on a grand note on Monday evening with Dwajarohanam. Priests hoisted the celestial Garuda flag during the auspicious Meena Lagnam between 6.15 PM and 6.30 PM as part of the ritual, which signifies inviting all the deities and Ashtadikpalakas to the nine-day fete.
On the first day, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy presented silk clothes to Sri Venkateswara Swamy on behalf of the State government on Monday evening. Dressed in traditional attire, he offered prayers at the Sri Bedi Anjaneyaswamy temple before heading to the Srivari temple with silk robes on his head.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy and executive officer AV Dharma Reddy accompanied the Chief Minister. Later, the TTD chief presented Theerthaprasadams and a Kalamkari lamination of Srivaru to Jagan.
On Tuesday, the processional deities of Lord Venkateswara were taken out on the Chinna Sesha Vahanam in the morning and Hamsa Vahanam in the evening. The priests also offered Snapana Tirumanjanam. Sri Malayappa Swamy adorned the avatar of Dwaraka Krishna on the second day of the Brahmotsavams and blessed the devotees.
The Chief Minister also had darshan early on Tuesday. He was welcomed traditionally with Isthikaphal at the Mahadwaram and taken inside the temple amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns and Mangalavaidyams.
Later, Bhumana offered Vedasirvachanam to Jagan at the Ranganayakula Mandapam and presented him with Swamivari Theerthaprasadams. During his two-day visit to the temple town, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the Srinivasa Sethu flyover, a new hostel complex at the Sri Venkateswara Arts College and other facilities worth Rs 1,300 crore.
He formally handed over house site pattas worth Rs 313 crore to 3,518 TTD employees and said the documents would be given to the remaining staff in the next 45 days. Further, he pointed out that 8,050 people in Tirupati and 2,500 in Chandragiri were given full ownership of their lands after they were removed from Section 22A.
Later, Jagan released TTD diaries and calendars for the year 2024. As many as 13.50 lakh calendars, 8.25 lakh big diaries, 1.50 lakh small diaries, 1.25 lakh tabletop calendars, 3.50 lakh Srivari big calendars, 10,000 Sri Padmavati Ammavari calendars, four lakh Srivaru and Sri Padmavati Ammavari calendars, and 2.50 lakh copies of Telugu Panchangam will be available at all TTD book stalls in Tirumala and Tirupati from September 22 onwards. They will be available in other cities from the second week of October.