Amidst sweltering heat, thousands attend kalyanam at Bhadrachalam
KHAMMAM: Undeterred by the heat, thousands of devotees thronged the Sree Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam to witness the celestial wedding (kalyanam) of Lord Rama and his consort Sita Devi on Wednesday.
Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari offered pattu vastralu (silk clothes) to the deities on behalf of the state government. The Election Commission of India (ECI) had denied permission to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Endowments Minister Konda Surekha to offer the silver clothes as the model code of conduct is in force. Additionally, senior officials from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) also offered pattu vastralu to the deities.
To facilitate the distribution of talambralu (sacred rice), the temple authorities established seven dedicated counters. They also prepared an additional two lakh extra laddu prasadams and set up special counters for its distribution. Meanwhile, officials said that all arrangements have been made for Lord Rama’s pattabhisekham (coronation), which is scheduled to be held on Thursday. Temple Executive Officer L Ramadevi said that Governor CP Radhakrishnan will attend the ceremony.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and his family members, Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy along with his family, and many other ministers and leaders participated in the celebrations.
A large number of police personnel were deployed to prevent any untoward incidents.
The rituals commenced early in the morning with abhishekam (cleansing) followed by alankaram (decoration). At 10 am, the deities were ceremoniously taken from the sanctum sanctorum to the kalyana mandapam at Midhila stadium amid chanting of Vedic hymns and kolata (traditional folk dance). Later, the deities were placed on a throne made using silver.
Following this, the rituals of punyavachanam, samprokshanam, rakshabandhanam and mokshabandanam took place. In the afternoon, during the Abhijit muhurutam, the suvarna yagnopaveetham was presented to Lord Rama and the Kanya Varanam ritual was conducted.
