JAGTIAL: Thousands of devotees thronged the Sri Anjaneya Swamy temple in Kondagattu on Sunday to celebrate Hanuman Jayanthi. Devotees who took the Hanuman Deeksha gathered at the temple since the early hours of the day, walking barefoot from faraway districts such as Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal and Nizamabad.
According to the authorities, over the last two days, around 1.5 lakh devotees have visited the temple, and they are expecting another 50,000 to visit by Monday. The three-day Hanuman Jayanthi celebrations will conclude on Monday, added officials.
Devotees took a holy bath in the Pushkarni, a sacred lake, which took approximately four hours to complete due to the large number of devotees. The hillock of Kondagattu reverberated with the chantings of “Jai Sri Ram” and “Jai Hanuman”.
Devotees who had observed the 41-day deeksha called off their observances after having darshan of Lord Hanuman. Special poojas, including abhishekam and fire rituals, were performed since the early hours of the day.
Despite the scorching heat, the flow of devotees continued throughout the day. Some business establishments took advantage of the situation and doubled the price of water bottles, and even the temple authorities were unable to meet the demand.
Huge rush at Vemulawada temple
In the meantime, the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple in Vemulawada also witnessed a huge rush of devotees. As per tradition, devotees visit this temple in Vemulawada before heading to the Kondagattu temple.