VIJAYAWADA: Indrakeeladri witnessed an unprecedented rush of devotees on the seventh day of Dasara festivities on Sunday. The seventh day is considered as the most important of all the nine days, where the presiding deity of Goddess Kanaka Durga adorns the avatar of Saraswati Devi.
It also coincides with Moola Nakshatram, the birth star of Goddess Kanaka Durga. It is believed that having a glimpse of Saraswati Devi on the auspicious day can bring knowledge and success. It has been learnt that over 2.5 lakh devotees offered prayers to the Goddess on Sunday. The darshan timings were also extended to 11 pm so that more pilgrims could have darshan at the temple, officials said.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, along with a slew of ministers and other public representatives, visited the temple around 3 pm and offered silk robes to Goddess Kanaka Durga.Temple priests presented the chief minister with a portrait of Goddess Kanaka Durga and Laddu prasadam.Prior to his visit, officials of endowments and revenue departments, and Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) along with police personnel beefed up security. All the vehicles were stopped for an hour before Jagan’s arrival.
Devotees began arriving at the temple since 4 am. They were forced to wait in queue lines while the chief minister offered prayers to the Goddess.Most of the devotees, who reached the city on Saturday for Moola Nakshatram, joined the queue lines around 3 am near Canal road. “On Moola Nakshatram, all the VIP services were cancelled. They were even asked not to visit the temple seeking special darshans,” Deputy Chief Minister Kottu Satyanarayana said. DGP K Rajendranath Reddy also visited the temple and offered prayers.
Anticipating the rush, temple officials arranged for additional waiting arenas near VMC office, Pundit Nehru Bus Station and in front of Rajiv Park. Special teams were formed to monitor the devotee movement atop Indrakeeladri and other premises. “In order to avoid untoward incidents such as stampedes and suffocation in the queue lines, devotees were released compartment-wise. We deployed extra force and used the services of volunteers to manage queue lines,” Satyanarayana explained.
Stating that all steps were taken to tackle the rush, the deputy chief minister said officials were instructed to arrange water, buttermilk and adequate Laddu prasadams for devotees. “Additionally, we roped in volunteers to help senior citizens and differently-abled to have darshan of the Goddess. The number of devotees offering prayers to the Goddess on the day of Moola Nakshatram has swelled by over 50% in comparison to the previous year,” Satyanarayana said.
On the day of Moola Nakshatram, the presiding deity adorns a white silk sari, and is called Swetha Vastra Dharin. The Goddess has a beautiful white swan as her vehicle. She holds a veena, symbolising art, a lotus, symbolising learning, and a rosary. She is the Goddess of education, literature and music. As per legend, Saraswathi Devi designed and planned ‘yuddha tantra’ (war plan) for Goddess Durga Devi to fight Mahishasura and defeat demons, Sumbha and Nisumbha. Her ‘kripa kataksham’ (grace) can even help an illiterate become a scholar.