VIJAYAWADA: On the third day of Dasara festivities at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanams (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri on Wednesday, close to 50,000 devotees visited the temple. The presiding deity was adorned in the attire of Sri Gayathri Devi avatar on the Day-3 of the celebrations. According to temple officials, around 45,000 devotees had darshan from 5 am to 8 pm and over 5,000 devotees visited the temple till 11 pm.
The officials said the temple earned `37.15 lakh through sale of darshan tickets, laddu prasadam, saree auctions and special pujas on the second day of the festivities.According to data obtained from the temple authorities, the temple received `8.53 lakh through the sale of `500 darshan tickets, close to `10 lakh through the sale of `300 tickets, `5.22 lakh through the sale of `100 tickets, and `8.95 lakh through laddu prasadam sale and other services.
Goddess Kanaka in an avatar of Sri Gayatri Devi was seated in a lotus with ‘Pancha Mukhi’ (five faces) representing the pancha (five) pranas—prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana - (five lives), five principles or elements - earth, water, air, fire, sky. The deity was decorated with five colours—mukta (pearl), vidruma (coral), hema (gold), neela (blue), dhavala (White) and ‘ashtha bhuji’, eight shoulders.
NTR district Collector S Dilli Rao and other officials inspected the temple and expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for the devotees. He also interacted with devotees and took stock of the situation. The Collector said Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will visit the temple on the occasion of Moola Nakshatra to offer silk robes to the presiding deity.
He directed the officials to ensure foolproof arrangements and clear the ghat road during the CM’s visit on Sunday. “There were some lapses in coordination between various departments, which resulted in some confusion. All the departmental heads were given instructions to follow rules and maintain coordination,” the Collector said. In order to facilitate darshan for senior citizens and differently-abled devotees, the temple officials have allotted special darshan in two shifts—10 am to 12 noon and 4 pm to 6pm.
SRI ANNAPURNA DEVI
On the fourth day of Dasara festivities, the Goddess Kanaka Durga will be adorned in the attire of Sri Annapurna Devi. The presiding deity will be decorated with a feeding bowl and ladle in her hands to serve food. A Lord Shiva idol will also be placed in the sanctum sanctorum. Annapurna Devi is the mother who feeds all creatures. The Goddess will bless devotees with enough food & prosperity
Pvt security agency incharge suspended
Temple EO Darbamulla Bramarambha on Wednesday suspended a private security agency incharge, Chandra, for attending temple duties in an inebriated state. The EO instructed the security agency security officials to initiate action against him