Temples across the district were crowded with devotees, with Thursday being ‘Karthika Pournami’. Women thronged the temples from early morning to offer special pujas. The famous Kanteswar temple, Shabhulingeswara Swami temple and other Shaivite temples witnessed long queues of devotees.
A large number of devotees took a holy dip in the Godavari at Basar before offering puja at the Gnana Saraswati Temple. Women set afloat pramidalu (lamps) in the waters.
At Kedaswara Temple at Nandipet mandal headquarters, Mangi Ramulu Maharaj gave up fasting, marking the annual jatara at the premises.
Karimnagar Special Correspondent writes: At the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam in Vemulawada, devotees arrived in large numbers and participated in mass Satyanarayana vrathams at the shrine.
Womenfolk also participated in the mass lighting ritual in the early hours.
A similar rush of pilgrims was witnessed at Sri Laxminarasimha Swamy Devasthanam in Dharmapuri. People participated in the rituals after taking a holy dip in the Godavari.
Likewise, the devotees also took part in Karthika Pournami rituals at Sri Kaleshwara Muktheeshwara Swamy Devasthanam in Kaleshwaram along the shores of the Godavar in Mahadevpur mandal in Karimnagar district.
All Shiva temples across the district were colourfully decorated for the festivities.
Adilabad Special Correspondent writes: Hundreds of devotees took a holy dip in the Godavari in the early hours at Basar and later offered prayers at the famous Gnana Saraswati Temple. In Adilabad, devotees made a beeline to the Sri Ramachandra Gopalakrishna Mutt for participating in the colourful kakada harathi . District judge G. Gopala Krishna Murthy also took part in the harathi and special puja.
Khammam Staff Reporter writes: A host of religious rituals, including the sparkling nadi harathi , marked the celebration of Karthika Pournami in Bhadrachalam on Thursday.
The banks of the Godavari glowed with the radiance of diyas as part of the nadi harathi ritual held late in the evening in the temple town. The karakatta adjoining the river came alive with hordes of devotees thronging the flood bank to witness the spectacular event.
Earlier in the morning, scores of devotees took a dip in the Godavari and offered prayers at the historical Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy shrine in the town.
Meanwhile, a teppotsavam was organised in an irrigation canal at Rajeshwarapuram village in Nelakondapalli mandal on the occasion of Karthika Pournami on Thursday.
The famous Shiva temples in Khammam, Penuballi, Madhira, Kusumanchi, Chandrugonda, and other mandals witnessed a steady stream of devotees throughout the day.
