KHAMMAM: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his wife Geetha Reddy offered ‘pattu vastralu’ (silk clothes) and ‘muthyala talambralu’ to the deities of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita at the Bhadrachalam temple on behalf of the state government on Sunday on the occasion of Sri Ram Navami. Officials from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) also made offerings of silk clothes.
Meanwhile, thousands of devotees gathered at the temple to witness the celestial wedding (Kalyanam) of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita.
The sacred ritual was performed during the auspicious Abhijit Muhurtham. The priests conducted the traditional ‘Jeelakarra Bellam’ ceremony at noon, followed by the ‘Mangalya Dharana’. The wedding concluded with the ‘Talambralu’ ritual, where sacred rice was showered over the divine couple. The entire event took place in the vibrantly decorated Mithila Stadium.
To facilitate smooth distribution of ‘talambralu’, the temple authorities set up 80 dedicated counters. Additionally, over two lakh extra ‘laddu prasadams’ were prepared, with 20 special counters established for their distribution.
Preparations are also in full swing for ‘pattabhishekam’ (coronation) of Lord Ram, on Monday. Governor Jishnu Dev Varma will attend the ceremony.
The day began with ‘abhishekam’ (ritual cleansing) followed by ‘alankaram’ (decoration) of the deities. At 10 am, the idols were taken in a grand procession from the sanctum sanctorum to the Kalyana Mandapam at Mithila Stadium amid chanting of Vedic hymns. The idols were later seated on a silver throne.
Subsequent rituals included ‘Punyavachanam’, ‘Samprokshanam’, ‘Rakshabandhanam’, and ‘Mokshabandhanam’. During the auspicious Abhijit Muhurtham in the afternoon, the ‘Suvarna Yagnopaveetham’ (golden sacred thread) was presented to Lord Ram, followed by the ‘Kanya Varanam’ ritual.
Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers Konda Surekha, Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy, Thummala Nageswara Rao, MLAs and Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari were among those who attended the ceremony.
