VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri and presented sacred clothes to the deity on behalf of the State government on Friday. It was as part of an annual tradition for the State chief minister to present silk robes to the presiding deity on the day of Moola Nakshatram, the birth star of the Goddess Durga.
Though Jagan Mohan Reddy was to visit the temple and offer clothes on Moola Nakshatram, which is on Saturday, due to his scheduled appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, he advanced the visit and offered pattu sarees, accompanied by his ministers and other party leaders a day early.
On the occasion, temple executive officer (EO) MV Suresh Babu and temple priests accorded the CM and ministers Poornakumbha Swagatham on their arrival.
Later, the priests adorned CM Jagan with ‘parvattam’, who entered the shrine carrying sacred clothes in a silver plate on his head. He offered special prayers to Goddess Durga and took blessings from the priests in the temple hall. The officials further honoured the CM with a portrait of the goddess and laddu prasadam.
On the sixth day of 10-day-long Navaratri festivities, the goddess Kanaka Durga was adorned in Sri Maha Lakshmi Devi alankaram. To seek the blessings of the deity, devotees from various places reached Vijayawada and the queue lines bustled with pilgrims from the early hours. Unlike the previous day, when the temple premises saw low footfall, the sixth day saw a surge in visitors.
Keeping the rush in mind, the temple officials announced that the devotees will be allowed inside the temple for darshan of the goddess till 11 pm. During the CMs visit, officials stopped VIP queues for a while, keeping the `300 ticket, `100 ticket and free darshan queue lines open. Officials did not allow vehicles on the Ghat Road from 3 pm as part of the Chief Minister’s protocol.
According to the officials concerned, more than 80,000 devotees visited the temple till 6 pm and the temple received a revenue of `35 lakh through the sale of tickets and prasadam on Friday. “Sri Maha Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, prosperity, wisdom and fortune. She is believed to protect her devotees from all kinds of money-related troubles. Pilgrims offer special prayers to Maha Lakshmi Devi to relieve themselves from all financial burdens and to find peace in their lives,” said MV Suresh Babu.
Meanwhile, rush of VIPs in the Durga temple was observed on sixth day of the festivities with Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA & UD) Minister Botcha Satyanarayana and other VIPs visiting the temple to offer special prayers to the goddess.
Saraswati Devi alankaram today
Vijayawada: On the seventh day of Navaratri festivities, the presiding deity Kanaka Durga will be adorned as Sri Saraswati Devi. Aswiyuja suddha saptami and moola nakshatram have a special significance as the deity was born on the same day. The presiding deity will be adorned in a white silk saree and will have a beautiful white swan as ‘vahana’ (vehicle). She will have a Veena, lotus and a rosary in her hands. Meanwhile, temple officials are making all efforts to get additional staff volunteers, including students and local residents to manage queue lines better. It is expected that more than three lakh devotees will visit the temple to seek blessings from the deity
Details till 6 pm
Total pilgrim footfall: 80,000
Free prasadam distributed: 1,365 kg
Annadanam packets: 12,839
Income generated
`300 tickets: `10.95 lakh
`100 tickets: `6.75 L
Laddu prasadam sale: `10.86 L
Pulihora prasadam sale: `1.50 L
Other poojas, services: `3.84 L
Total income: `33.90 lakh