Hanumath Jayanti was celebrated with religious fervour and traditional enthusiasm across Prakasam district on Friday. Devotees in large numbers thronged famous Anjaneyaswamy temples at Singarakonda and Darsi, among other places, in the district.
The 99-foot idol of Hanuman erected by the side of Hyderabad highway near Addanki by granite baron Sidda Venkateswara Rao on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti was the cynosure of all eyes.
Right from dawn, there was a heavy rush of devotees in all the Hanuman temples in the city including the Veeranjaneya Swamy temple at Santhapet and Panchamukha Anjaneya Swamy at Mangamur Donka, to seek the blessings of the Anjaniputra.
Women offered one lakh jasmine flowers at the Suvarchala sameta Sanjeevaraya Swamy shrine in the Ayyappa temple near Rangarayuduchervu.
“Manyasukta parayanam” was done by Vedic priests led by Hanuman upasaka Matampalli Srirama Sarma. The devotees prayed to ''Ramadhuta'' with reverence as thousands of pots of milk, curd, panakam, sugar, honey, ghee, 15 varieties of fruit juices, butter, turmeric, vermilion, sindhuram, sandal powder and gold coins were poured over the deity at the temple consecrated by the Kanchi Kamakoti Mutt. This was followed by special puja with one lakh betel leaves, Tulasi and sindhuram to appease Vayuputra. Plantains, mangoes and other fruits were offered as also ‘Vadamalas' on the occasion.