VIJAYAWADA: With the 10-day Dasara festivities coming to an end, pilgrims and Bhavani devotees from various places turned up in large numbers on Monday to have darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga adorned in Sri Mahishasura Mardini alankaram.
The Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) premises was filled with hundreds of Bhavani devotees. Most of them hailed from the two Godavari districts and North Andhra districts.
The temple priests performed ‘suprabhata seva’, other rituals and allowed darshan from 3 am on Monday. Braving heat, devotee influx was high from the early hours and continued till 11 pm. The queue lines erected from Canal Road to Indrakeeladri, prasadam counters on Mallikarjuna Maha Mandapam and bathing ghats witnessed a sea of pilgrims.Volunteers from the NCC and Bhavani Seva Dal provided drinking water to the visitors.
Temple executive officer (EO) MV Suresh Babu said that they were expecting more than two lakh devotees within 11 pm. He explained that all safety arrangements were in place. Though the devotee rush was thin during the noon hours, footfall gradually increased as the day advanced.
The EO further said special arrangements were made for the Bhavani devotees and lighted up ‘homagudam’, marking the ‘deeksha’ conferment event.Some Bhavani devotees complained to the EO about arrangements and asked him to arrange food during the night.
According to the data, around 1.8 lakh devotees came for darshanam, generating a revenue of `54 lakh, the highest during the festival.High Court Chief Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheswari and Chief Secretary LV Subramanyam visited the temple.
Sri Rajarajeswari Devi alankaram today
Vijayawada: On Tuesday, marking the tenth and final day of Dasara festivities, goddess Kanaka Durga will be adorned in Sri Rajarajeswari Devi alankaram. The presiding deity will be seen sitting on the throne holding ‘ikshu khanda’ (sugarcane) in one hand and giving blessings with the other in ‘abhaya mudra’. In this avatar, she killed and defeated many demons in many kalpas, hence, she is known as Aparajita Devi, one who cannot be defeated. The Trimurthi—Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara —are the lords of Ashta Digpalakas. They are called Rajeswar and the goddess who rules over them is called Rajarajeswari. The deity will be decorated with beautiful diamond chains, broad ear rings, jewels on the shoulders made of diamonds and other costly stones as she is the symbol of prosperity, as per mythical beliefs
