VIJAYAWADA: Priests at Kanaka Durga temple performed special rituals on Saturday seeking divine intervention in the wake of coronavirus outbreak. Endowments Commissioner M Padma, along with her family members and temple executive officer MV Suresh Babu, participated in the rituals conducted by the priests at yagasala.
Temple priests, under the supervision of sthanacharya Vishnubhotla Siva Prasad Sarma, performed special rituals, such as Sri Maha Ganapathi pooja, punyahavachanam, acharya rutivikavaruna, saurashitkari maha mantra havanam, maha mrityunjaya mantra havanam, seethala maha mantra havanam, aruna parayanam, saura parayanam, surya namaskar and chandi havanam.
"Special rituals began on Saturday and will continue till April 3. There is a mention in the vedas that performing special rituals to the goddess will help in protecting mankind from various deadly diseases,” said Siva Prasad Sarma. Regular fixtures such as chandi homam, sri chakra archana pooja, kadgamalaarchana and others were also conducted as usual.
However, devotees were not allowed for darshan of the presiding deity. Siva Prasad added the devotees can worship the goddess by staying at home rather than thronging the temple as precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, the environs of the temple wore a deserted look on Saturday as the devasthanam cancelled darshan for all devotees a day earlier.