evotees thronged Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam here in large numbers on Friday on the auspicious occasion of ‘Sravana Sukravaram’.
Special rituals were performed by hundreds of women amidst the chanting of slokas from Vedas. The goddess was specially decorated as ‘Varalakshmi’. The rush of devotees was heavy as they gathered atop the hillock from the early hours after having a holy dip in the river Krishna to have a glimpse of the presiding deity and Her consort Malleswara Swamy. They participated in the ‘pujas’ to mark the beginning of the festivities.
The queue lines extended up to Omkaram turning, and the devotees had a harrowing time as the queue lines moved at a snail’s pace.
The devotees complained that there were no roofs for the queue lines. The temple officials stopped ‘antaralaya darshan’ for about two hours in view of heavy rush.
The temple made arrangements for 500 devotees to participate in mass Vara Lakshmi Vratham. The devotees performed puja to Dhwajasthambam and stairways. They also distributed vermillion, turmeric, saris and blouse pieces to fellow devotees as part of Sravana Masam rituals.
The Kanaka Durga temple administration made necessary arrangements for the convenience of devotees and tight security was provided by the police to prevent any untoward incident.
Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishad jointly organised mass Vara Lakshmi varatham at various places across the district.
The festivities were organised at Dalit colonies at Eturu, Tadepalli, Gouravaram, Mylavaram, Mudinepalli, Vijayawada and other places.
