Holy gifts from Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy temple were despatched to Lord Venkateswara temple, Tirumala temple on Saturday, on the occasion of the 'Adi Seer' ritual. The gifts, including the holy dhothi, sari and garlands besides cashew dry grape, were despatched after preliminary ritual at Srirangam temple.
Religious fervour marked the area when the temple elephant led a holy procession in which the temple authorites including S. Kalyani, Joint Commissioner and Executive Officer of the temple took the holy gift at the temple. The accompaniment of special thalam in a percussion instrument added to the religious fervour.
Priest Sundar Bhattar took the gift to the sanctum sanctorum and placed it before the presiding deity of Sri Ranganathaswamy. Ms. Kalyani, said that the ritual marked the thanksgiving exercise to the Tirumala deity Sri Srinivasa Perumal.
It also marked a historical event associated with the Srirangam temple. For the forty years between 1320 and 1360 AD, the processional idol of Namperumal was kept under the safe custody in Tirupati, following the invasion by the then Muslim rulers.
Since the Tirumala temple played a crucial role in preserving the idol of Namperumal, the 'seer' was being despatched to the abode of Lord Venkateswara. The timing of the despatch coincided with the birth of 'Adi' month in the Tamil almanac. The holy dhoti and sari and other fruits would be presented to Sri Srinivasa Perumal on the first day of Adi (Monday).
Temple staff from Srirangam left for Tirumala later to hand over the gift to the TTD authorities on Sunday, so that the same could be offered on Monday. Though this ritual was in practice for the past several centuries, it was not continued till the recent decades. The ritual was revived about six years ago, and this was the seventh year since revival that the gifts were being despatched to Tirumala, she added.
