Sringeri Shankaracharya Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswami arrived here on Friday on a five-day spiritual sojourn.
Befitting his visit to the city after 23 years, a traditional welcome with ‘Poornakumbham’, Vedic chants, and ‘nadaswaram, was accorded to him at MVP Colony Junction from the Beach Road.
The visit is part of his Dharma Vijaya Yatra in the South. The Swamiji came here from Bhimili. He will later go to Annavaram.
Reception Committee chairman and former Mayor D.V. Subba Rao, Visakhapatnam Port Trust Chairman Ajeya Kallam, Visakhapatnam South MLA Dronamraju Srinivasa Rao, and M.V. Sitaramayya of Gayatri Vidya Parishad welcomed the Swamiji.
‘Sobhayatra’
At the junction, the Swamiji alighted from his car and sat atop a special vehicle adorned with a throne and went in “Sobhayatra” to the TTD Kalyanamantapam even as the devout raised slogans in reverential honour of the Swamiji, who is heading the Sarada Peetham of Sringeri, the first of the four peethams founded by the great philosopher Adi Sankara, in the country.
Brief burst of fireworks added to the festive atmosphere. Hundreds of devotees clad in dhotis walked ahead. Vedic pundits from the TTD and local temples led the yatra chanting mantras.
Along the way to the kalyanamantapam too devotees waited at some points for a glimpse of the Swamiji, who blessed them with a gentle wave of his hand.
During his stay here, Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahaswamy will perform ‘Chandramouliswara puja’ in the evening and deliver his ‘anugraha bhashanam’ (discourse).
